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u^9Piic;;is: 

Gi^SiiSBaisssssS: 

BSIllil«fc!K!SSS 









\ 


The Isle of Feminine 



CHARLES ELLIOT NISWONGER 
*\ 



Press of 

23rohm printing Pompano 
ILtttL Koch 



w7*<y 





( ^Vl1 


\ 


Entered according to an Act of Congress, in the year 1893, 
By CHARLES ELLIOT NISWONGER, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. 


DEDICATED 


TO THE FAIR SEX, 

JFOR WHOSE FANCY WAS CREATED, 
AND FOR WHOSE SAKE 
I HAVE DESTROYED, 

MY “ISLE OF FEMININE.” 



PREFACE. 


Strange phenomena and occurrences hard to 
believe are daily recorded and made part of 
our national history in the wane of this nine- 
teenth century. These, according as they fall 
to our own or some distant State, we accept in 
wonder, or reject as the product of some fertile 
imagination. 

Two years ago, while I was making a special 
study of catacomb inscriptions under the Im- 
perial City, I received a cablegram from home 
conveying the sad intelligence that my father 
was quite ill, and that, being arrived at the good 
old age of four-score years and ten, there was 
but slight hopes of his recovery. I hurried 
home on the first vessel to find that my good 
parent had been buried many days, and as I 
was his only heir and there was a goodly estate, 
I deemed it inexpedient to return to my tire- 
some studies at Rome, and accordingly I retired 


VI 


PREFACE. 


to my country place to rest and make plans for 
the future. 

I had only been home about two weeks when 
the dreary fall rains set in and penned me up 
in the library with a cheerful grate and my 
pipe as my only companions. The first day of 
imprisonment I passed very well ; now smoking 
and dreaming, and again admiring the virtues 
of George Eliot’s poor, but the next, ah ! that 

second day I found invidious and almost uu- 

* 

bearable. To pass the time more quickly I 
finally went to my father’s escritoire and began 
to look over his papers. Hidden deeply in one 
of the pigeon holes, side by side, were a letter 
written by some country lass to my sire while 
he was in college and a bill for groceries re- 
ceipted by one A. Vogel, September n, 1812. 
In one drawer I found a neatly bound book 
marked on the binding, “ Diary of Andrew 

Lowe, from January I, 1801, to .” This 

little treasure I laid aside and hurried on. In 
the bottom drawer I discovered a bundle of 


PREFACE. 


vii 

manuscript which at once excited my curiosity. 
On opening it I found a note in my father’s 
handwriting which ran : 

“ This paper is written in my old age that 
my dear son and heir may be possessed of the 
history of certain months in my life which I 
have always permitted to remain a matter of 
conjecture among my neighbors and friends.” 

I read and re-read the manuscript ; my fath- 
er’s autograph alone forbade my doubting its 
truthfulness. After much thought I have con - 
cluded to make public the contents of this 
strange paper, chiefly for the benefit of those 
good friends who have been kind to me from 
childhood and the long-tried neighbors whom 
my father loved. 


The Author. 


✓ 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


CHAPTER I. 

By the grace of God I enjoy good health in 
this the eighty-seventh year of my life, but I 
know it will not be long until I will rest by iny 
dear wife on the hillside. 

It seems no longer than yesterday that my 
friend George Latting came into my little room 
at home and said in his cheerful way, ‘‘What 
say you to a cruise, old fellow?” 

“ Why not propose the purchase of Austra- 
lia?” I replied. “ Cruise, indeed. You should 
know the word ‘cruise’ is not included in the 
poor man’s vocabulary.” 

“ Pshaw,” replied George, “ I thought you’d 
enjoy it.” 

“ Not I. You should be hanged for exciting 
desires in a poor man that he isn’t able to 
gratify. Cruise, indeed !” 


IO 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


“ Andy, you are an idiot/’ said George. (He 
never was careful of his speech.) We can take 
that old shell of mine and stock her for two 
weeks, and — I’ll omit the word ‘ cruise * since 
you don’t know it’s meaning — row along the 
coast, and when the breeze is suitable hoist the 
bit of canvas that belongs to her. It’ll not 
cost much, and we can have a fine time.” 

“ Aha.” 

“ I thought you’d wake up. We both need 
a little fresh air before striking out in earnest, 
and you want to have your wind in pretty good 
shape for its lick about in the struggle, with a 
possibility of the world’s striking harder blows 
than you’ll be able to repay in kind.” 

“Never mind the world,” I replied; “when 
do we start?” 

“At any time you’re ready.” 

“ How many have you invited ?” 

“ Two.” 

“ Who are they ?” 

“ You and I.” 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


I 


“ What are you going to stock the boat with ?”' 

“ O, the staff of life, I suppose.” 

“ Well, be sure it’s good and hard. Better 
get biscuit ; I don’t take to light bread on the 
water.” 

“ Who said anything about bread ? I said 
the staff of life.” 

“ * Bread is the staff of life,’ saith the wise 
man.” 

“ Bah ! I knew a man who lived six months 
on spirits after he had gotten past the bread 
line. And he died happy, too. Said his soul 
was preserved, and so on.” 

In answer to this pleasantry I hurled the 
book I had been reading at my friend’s head, 
but somehow I aimed badly, and it missed him 
and took fragments of a pane of glass with it 
into the street. “ There,” I cried, “ fifty cents 
for the glass, and five dollars for the injury 
done my Dante. Wretch, why will you come 
into my room and excite my anger? Pay me 
for the damage you’ve done.” 


T 2 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


“ Why will you have passions to awake ? v 
he replied. “ Man is but a beast after all. 
Poke an iron rod at the turtle and he’ll break 
his jaw to no purpose but to have his head 
pulled over the block for slaughter. Tickle the 
hind legs of a mule, and he’ll kick high into the 
air and hurt nothing but the tendons of his 
legs. So man flies into a fury and destroys his 
own belongings. I think when the Creator 
made the things inanimate, He found them so 
grandly serene they embarrassed Him, so He 
made a lot of creatures to humiliate and de- 
stroy them. But come, do we start tomorrow?” 

“Yes,” I replied, “I’ll be at the wharf at 
daybreak.” 

I should like to go on and tell you all about 
the sad voyage we took, and how strangely it 
ended, but I find one’s memory is not clear at 
eighty-seven, and I fear I might tell the story 
very badly. Nothing but the sight of the green 
mound above my dear wife’s grave, which I see 
now from the window, could induce me to con- 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 1 3 

tinue. I believe I shall feel myself drawn nearer 
to her while I write. 

At the appointed time, as the sun was peep- 
ing over the wide expanse of ocean, our little 
boat, with sail hoisted, was scudding along 
before the morning breeze. 

“Ah, this is life,” said George. “I wish I 
might feel the breeze in my face and be rocked 
by the waves forever. How free we are here 
with nothing to battle with but the elements, 
and they are more kind than humanity. Isn’t 
it grand, old fellow ?” 

“ It does very well while the sea is quiet,” I 
replied ; “ but let the waves be disturbed, and 
you’ll not find it so pleasant.” 

“ But even if the waves destroy you, they 
give you a grave ; society often destroys and 
leaves you to decay. Do you know,” said 
George, after musing for some time, “ that I 
used to be afraid of the waves ? How foolish 1 
It was only because I didn’t understand them. 
I was out on a lake once with a friend when a 


14 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

storm came up. I couldn’t swim, and I begged 
him to take me to land, but he laughed and 
said he’d introduce me to the grandeur of the 
elements. I coaxed and swore and threatened 
to no purpose, and when the storm struck our 
skiff I repeated the little prayer I hadn’t 
thought of for many years and waited for the 
end. ‘ What can be grander than a war of 
the elements ?’ said he. ‘ Don’t be fright- 
ened. Neither the wind nor the wave has 
anything against you or me. Look how the 
water rolling in little mountains before the force 
of its tormentor never leaves us in the valley 
to be submerged by the next rushing billow, 
but bears us gently out of danger. My friend, 
you live out in the great world, where noise 
and bustle and love and hatred are, and 
where lives are crushed continually. I live by 
this little lake. Beneath its surface I find my 
food ; on its bosom I seek my pleasure ; under 
the shade trees along its margin I have my hut 
where I sleep and pray. When its smooth sur- 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 1 5 

face is tormented by the storm, I ride on its 
waves and am happy. Soon I shall be no more 
and they’ll bury me on the shore yonder be- 
neath the palm, where my soul can hear the 
moan of the driven waves or feel the quiet of 
the lake’s glassy surface. I don’t envy you the 
great world that is unknown to me.’ Do you 
know, Andy,” said my friend, “ since that day, 
whenever the storm’s fury is greatest I ride the 
waves.” 

“What an enviable life this fisherman’s was,” 
I said sarcastically. (I had always been matter 
of fact, and could not then appreciate the ro- 
mantic turn of my companion.) “ I, myself, 
had a little experience on the water, to which 
you shall listen. Meantime, let’s get nearer 
land ; my stomach’s continually crying twelve 
o’clock.” 

“Suppose we take a pull at the flask?” 

“No; I came to think and enjoy, not to 
drink liquor.” 

“ Have your own way; let’s have the story.” 


1 6 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

“ I want to prove to you that bravery comes 
more often from fear than confidence,” I began. 
“ About four years ago I was visiting a cousin 
of mine who lives in a small town on a large 
river. One Sunday, with a friend of his, we 
rowed about three miles up stream to a bathing 
place, and after the usual amount of fun cus- 
tomary on such occasions we started down 
stream for home, keeping out of the current as 
we had done on the up trip. The river was 
swollen and very rapid. 

“ * Why not go out into the current ?’ I asked. 
‘ We’ve had enough sport for once, and I’m 
getting hungry.* (My stomach always was my 
master, you know. There never was a time 
that I wouldn’t brave any sort of danger to run 
up against a square meal.) One of the fellows 
said it was dangerous to go out into the main 
channel, to which I answered, ‘What do I 
care ?’ and we turned our little boat into the 
stream. All went well until we got opposite 
the town and attempted to land. There was 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 1/ 

a steamer just below the point where we wanted 
to tie up. 

“ ‘ We can land in front of her all right/ 
said my cousin. 

“ 4 No/ I said, ‘ we’d better drift by and land 
below. Before he had time to answer we were 
caught by the swift current and dashed against 
the steamer. The bows struck hard together 
and our little skiff was very badly stove in. I 
was in the stern with a short oar, which I had 
used in guiding us. When we struck our boat 
turned completely around, and I found myself 
in front, standing on the seat, with all the wis- 
dom I ever possessed frightened away, but 
with a determination I’ve never felt since. 
With the oar I kept the boat from being drawn 
under the steamer, and when we drifted safely 
to land below the crowd cheered me again and 
again for my coolness and bravery.” 

“ Do you call that bravery ?” asked George. 
“I don’t.” 


F — 2 


l8 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

“No ? Pray, my learned friend, what was it 
then ?” 

“ The animal instinct of self-preservation. 
Bravery isn’t an instinct. It is the execution 
of a thought ; the studied placing of yourself 
in danger for the protection of your fellow. 
But we are not reaching land, and see, there’s 
a squall right on us.” 

“ Take the oars and pull hard,” I cried. 
“We must reach land before the gale strikes 
us. Pull with all your might, George. I'll 
take in the sail.” 

“All right; but don’t be frightened. This 
old shell will weather a pretty stiff breeze.” 

“ It wouldn’t last a minute,” I answered. 
Before I could reach the canvas the wind 
struck it and dipped the bow of the boat. 
Fortunately, the mast was brash and snapped 
off, and sail and all fell into the water. I cut 
the ropes and let it drift away. 

“ Good bye, George,” I shouted in terror. 
“ We’re gone.” 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. I9 

“ Not yet ; she rides beautifully. Ah ! this 
is living.” 

“ Yes,” I shuddered. “ At a pace that ends 
very quickly. My God ! will you sit there and 
laugh when you may be dead in five minutes ?” 

" Why not ?” 

“ Why ? Man, you have a soul.” 

He did not answer. His hat was gone, and 
his long black hair was flying about his face. 
From his eyes shot a fire which seemed either 
to defy or sympathize with the lightning, while 
into the face of the storm he hurled a wild 
song, the words of which seemed to have 
burned into my brain, for I have never forgot- 
ten them : 

" Jove, with your thunderbolts, 

King of the elements, 

Holding high carnival out on the sea ; 

Unleash your lightnings, 

Split up the universe, 

All of your fury frightens not me.” 

While he sang I hid my face in the bottom 
of the boat, and prayed for deliverance. “ Get 


20 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


up, Andy,” I heard him saying ; “ the storm is 
past, and the boat’s scudding like mad over the 
water. You are missing rare sport, old fellow.” 

I raised my head and looked about. “ Where 
are we ?” I asked. 

“ I haven’t an idea.” 

“ Do you know in what direction we are 
going ?” 

“ No.” 

“ Have you a compass ?” 

“ No.” 

“ I can’t see land anywhere.” 

“So much the better: we’ll have our two 
weeks’ cruise in earnest. Suppose we eat 
something. Come, old fellow, don’t get the 
blues. WeVe got provisions for two weeks, 
and we’ll be picked up long before that,” 

“ But we haven’t any water,” I replied. 

“ Come, that is serious. But we have two 
gallons of water in the jug, and there are the 
two cases of porter and the flask of brandy. 
That isn’t so bad.” 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


21 


“That will soon be gone.” 

“ We’ll have to make the best of it,” he re- 
plied. “ Two gallons are more than no water 
at all. We’ll drink the porter first and then 
the water. We must save the brandy for 
emergencies.” 

“ And after they are gone ?” I inquired 
eagerly, as if expecting a satisfactory answer. 
But he did not answer, and we sat looking at 
each other for some time. Even my light- 
hearted friend, who looked at the bright side of 
everything, shuddered at the thought of death 
from thirst. He laughed at the storm, but he 
saw no mercy in an empty water jug. 

“ Let’s not begin by drowning ourselves in 
misery,” he said. “ Get something to eat while 
I bail out the water.” 

After a lunch during which, despite our fear 
of thirst, we lessened our stock of porter by 
two bottles, we lit our pipes and trying to for- 
get our surroundings, indulged in pleasantries 
until night settled down upon us. Then, both 


22 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


very much exhausted by the excitement of the 
day, we soon fell’ asleep, and lay unconscious 
through the long, dark night, while our little 
boat sped on before the wind. 

When I awoke I found the sky overcast with 
dull, gray clouds. In the bottom of the boat 
lay my friend, tossing restlessly. A look at 
his flushed face showed that fever had seized 
him. I put my hand to his forehead and found 
it burning, while his lips moaned piteously, 
“ water, water.” 

“ Good God,” I groaned, no doubt he has 
been calling for water all night, while I’ve been 
sleeping as peacefully as if I had been at home 
in my own bed. I wonder if I can’t feed the 
fever with porter and save the water for George* 
I’ll try it pretty soon, but now the poor fellow 
must have water.” I hauled out the jug and 
filled a tin cup, which I held for him while he 
drank. “Does that taste good, George?” I 
asked anxiously. 

“ There he goes ; there he goes. Now’s your 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 23 

chance. Mind you don’t hit the hounds, 
Andy.” 

" Poor boy,” I murmured to myself, “ it looks 
as if he had taken his last hunt.” 

I ate a scanty breakfast, and sat down oppo- 
site my friend to smoke and think. All day 
long I sat there, only rising now and then to 
give him water. 

Being out of sight of land, with ominous look- 
ing clouds hanging over you, with a man in high 
fever for your companion, and only two gallons 
of water — less one day’s use — for drink, is not 
conducive to pleasant thoughts. Nevertheless, 
I got through the day and the entire night 
somehow — watching, thinking, smoking. I 
hadn’t the heart to go to sleep with George 
calling incessantly for water. And then, to 
think of the time when the jug would be empty ! 
When the morning came again George seemed 
more quiet and I lay down for a few minutes’ 
sleep. “Just five minutes,” I thought. “He 


24 THE isle of feminine. 

can’t suffer much in five minutes, and I must 

sleep some time.” 

Some minutes later I awoke with a start to 
find him in a high state of delirium. He was 
on his knees in the bottom of the boat talking 
wildly. In his hand he held a bottle of porter, 
while another was just dropping into the water 
ten feet away. One case was entirely gone, as 
were also the provisions, and in the remaining 
case were only five bottles. “ Quick, men !” 
he shouted, fS get her cargo over, or we go to 
the bottom. She can’t last another minute !” 
With a sort of frenzy I threw myself upon the 
delirious man and forced him to the bottom of 
the boat. “ Great Heavens, George !” I cried, 
“you are committing suicide.” 

“ Ha ! ha ! Andy, that’s a good joke. It’ll 
cost you a dollar for a new glass.” 

“ George ! George ! keep quiet. I shall be 
as mad as yourself in another hour if this keeps 
up. Ah, poor boy ! how many days of life you 
have cut off. But of course you didn’t know. 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 2 $ 

If only you were on shore I would arrange this 
matter very quickly— there are better ways to 
die than starving. Five bottles of porter and 
a gallon of water,” I said aloud ; “ that will 
last about three days.” 

All day long George called incessantly for 
water, and I had no heart to refuse him. I 
watched constantly to see a speck on the hori- 
zon, but in vain. Night again settled down 
upon us, and I prayed God in the bitterness of 
my heart to send a storm and destroy us. 
From the bottom of the boat came nothing but 
the cry of ‘"water, water!” and the jug was 
empty. As I sit here writing, I marvel how I 
ever lived through that terrible night. Surely 
God has been good to me. I was exhausted 
and terribly thirsty, for I had not tasted the 
water nor the porter — my friend must have 
them. As for the brandy, I searched for it but 
it was gone. 

The third morning dawned gloomier than the 
others. I scanned the horizon long and earn- 


26 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


estly in the hope of seeing a sail, but there was 
nothing to break the monotonous stretch of 
cruel waves. Only two bottles of porter re- 
mained in the case. How I wished for one of 
them ! I can only excuse the selfishness of the 
thought in that I was very faint and dizzy. 
With a sudden frenzy I grasped one of the 
bottles and opened it. “ Water, water,” came 
in piteous moans from my poor friend’s lips. 
“Yes, George, I was just getting it for you,” 
and I poured out a cupful of the liquor and 
held his head while he drank. With a great 
effort I found courage to replace the cork. 

About noon a sail appeared on the horizon. 
O, joy! joy! There was nothing left in the 
boat with which to make a signal, and taking 
off my coat I tied the sleeves to an oar and 
waved it until I sank back exhausted. An hour 
passed, however, and the ship went on out of 
sight ; and as I watched her sails disappear I 
prayed that I might be deprived of reason. My 
prayer seemed almost answered. I did not 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 2J 

again put on my coat, but threw it overboard 
with the oar. It would only be a few more 
days at most until I would be dead, and the 
cold added nothing to my misery. 

George called again for water and I gave 
him all the porter there was left. “ There, 
George, that’s all,” I said. “ Now let us settle 
back and die like men. It will be easy for you, 
for you no longer feel. May be, too, you will 

go first; but for me- I was too weak to 

think, and could only lie and stare at my friend 
in the other end of the boat. 

Night came and went, and the day, and 
again the darkness settled down upon us. In- 
cessantly the piteous pleading for water came 
from my friend’s feverish lips, and I could only 
put my fingers to my ears and shudder. 

On the seventh morning the fever had left 
George, but from the wild, vacant look in his 
eyes I saw that his reason too was gone. Sud- 
denly he raised himself on one knee, and 
snatching his knife from his belt, with a hideous 


28 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


chatter he plunged it into his throat. Clutch- 
ing the hilt convulsively he pulled the blade 
out and fell forward, his breast resting on the 
seat and his head hanging downward. 

When I saw what my friend had done, all 
that was human in me seemed to forsake me ; 
an awful desire seized me, and grasping the tin 
cup I crawled forward and held it out ; then I 
knew no more — I had fainted. 


CHAPTER II. 


When I opened my eyes in consciousness 
the day was dawning. I knew not how many 
times the sun had risen since I fainted. I was 
lying on the shore of some strange land, my 
head resting on a bed of mignonette. At my 
feet the great ocean crowded its ripples upon 
the sand. In the east the first faint streaks of 
dawn were visible, and one by one the stars 
crept rapidly into hiding. In the west perfect 
night reigned unmolested. I would that my 
pen could picture the grandeur of that scene, 
but my arm trembles and my heart has lost the 
poetry of youth. Even age, however, has not 
dimmed my memory, and I can still see the 
morning star in trembling brilliancy on the ho~ 
rizon, and feel the cool breeze fan my cheek as 
it came that day wafted to me from the great 
sea. Above my head a stately palm waved in 
gentle motion. My soul within me cried “Par- 


30 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

adise,” and the word escaped my lips in a low 
murmur. As from some kindred spirit in pity 
of my delusion, I heard a faint sigh, and turn- 
ing my head saw a lithe and graceful female 
bending over me, and a pair of liquid eyes 
gazing on me in sadness. In my still weak 
condition I fancied that I had been transported 
to another world. 

“ Have you come to welcome me to Para- 
dise, fair spirit ?” I faltered. At the sound of 
my voice she started, as if waking from a 
dream, then looked at me earnestly for some 
moments and sighed : 

“ Had I known thou wouidst call me ‘you * I 
fear thou hadst died a castaway ’ere I had 
nursed thy life through the vigils of so many 
nights.” 

“ Alas, fair maiden, how have I offended ? I 
did but use the language of my country; yet if 
there be one word in my mother tongue that 
grates upon thy senses, I’ll discard it. But 
tell me, what land is this, and who art thou ?” 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


31 

“ This is the Isle of Feminine, ruled by the 
immortal queen, Diana. As for myself, I am 
but a little light allowed to flicker in her bril- 
liancy, not quite mortal nor yet immortal ; they 
call me Vesta. Who art thou, fair sir? I did 
find thee cast by the waves upon the beach, 
naked and lifeless.” 

“ My princess Vesta,” I replied “(for I judge 
thou art a princess of the royal house), I am 
the victim of a folly. A friend and I started 
in a frail craft to cruise along the borders of 
our State, but the wind drove us out to sea. 
My friend was taken with a fever, and in a de- 
lirium, while I slept, threw our provisions over- 
board. For several days we drifted aimlessly 
about, until he went mad and died by his own 
hand. After that I remember nothing, for I 
lost consciousness.” At the memory of those 
dreadful hours I burst into a violent fit of weep- 
ing. 

“ Weep not in memory of the past,” said 
Vesta. “ I fear thy troubles are not ended. 


32 THE ISLE OF FEMININE, 

for thou art the first stranger who has ever 
touched our shores, and I know not how the 
queen will take thy coming. What is thy 
name ?” 

44 Andrew Lowe.” 

“ What a hideous appellation ! Speak it not 
again. I will rechristen thee and call thee 
* Angelo/ and remember thou sayest not * An- 
drew Lowe ’ before the queen whom thou must 
later meet, or she will kill thee for a heathen.” 

44 I shall remember thine instructions,” I said, 
somewhat frightened, but yet amused at her 
aversion to my name. What a strange land I 
had reached, where to say 4 you ’ was an unpar- 
donable vulgarity, and a stranger’s life depended 
much upon his cognomen. Here, however, I 
was, and to make the best of things seemed 
highly in order. 

After saying over to myself many times my 
new name, I felt ready for further instructions. 

41 Pray, fair Vesta,” I began, 44 if there be 
anything else offensive in my language it were 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 33 

well thou didst inform me, for I came from a 
land where the people are free and defective 
speech is not a punishable offense. Tell me 
what must not be said or done. Thou saidst 
the ‘ immortal queen is she truly ? How long 
has she lived, and from whence came she. I 
note thou speakest the same language as my- 
self, hence I judge this is a colony governed 
by the laws of England ; and I fear Her Majesty 
might not be pleased to hear her subjects call 
another queen.” 

I know not England,” replied Vesta ; “ this 
land is ruled by none save Diana, and she is 
immortal ; she has seen the oldest tree spring 
from the ground.” 

“ She must be very old indeed. Does she 
still retain her sight, and has she strength to 
rule her people ?” 

“ Thy jests are but poor payment for the 
weary hours I spent in nursing thee back to 
life, my Angelo.” 

“ Alas, fair Vesta, I speak seriously. In 

F — 3 


34 the isle of feminine. 

mine own country, at sixty a woman is sel- 
dom beautiful, and at eighty, if she lives so 
long, she is helpless. I but judged of Queen 
Diana from what is true of mine own people.” 

“ Wouldst thou count me fair among the 
women of thy land?” asked Vesta. 

“ Princess, I never saw a beauty to compare 
with thine. Thine eyes alone would turn the 
heads of all the men in my country. Thou art 
more beautiful than our poets picture angels.*’ 
I detected a faint smile flit across the beauti- 
ful countenance of the princess as I said this. 

“ When thou seest the queen,” she answered, 
“ thou wilt think me hideous. But the sun has 
started on his course, and I must to the palace. 
Thou wilt find food and wine ’neath yonder bush, 
and see thou wander not far from this place 
until I come again. If any find thee here, say 
thou art Vesta’s guest, lest harm come to thee. 
Yet, stay ; I will give thee my signet ring to in- 
sure thee against injury. When thou art not 
eating and drinking, as I believe from thy 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 35 

gaunt look thou wilt be most of the time, re- 
peat thy new name, and address the trees as 
thou,” she said, smiling, and I soon lost sight 
of her among the bushes as she hurried away. 

Vesta was not long from my sight when a 
deep melancholy seized me, and a profound 
grief for the loss of my friend. Poor George ! 
What a gay, light-hearted, careless fellow he 
was ! I could scarce believe he was gone for- 
ever. I wondered very much what had be- 
come of his body and of our boat, and walked 
as best I could along the beach for some dis- 
tance in the hope that I might find some trace 
of them; but I wandered so far I almost lost 
the way, yet was disappointed to no purpose. 
Perhaps the princess had found them, and to 
allay my sadness, had hidden them away. 
When I returned to the palm under which I 
first opened my eyes on this strange island, I 
felt faint and hungry and went to the bush 
where Vesta had said I should find food and 
wine. I found them as she had promised, but 


3 6 THE ISLE OF FEMININE, 

instead of bread and meat as I had expected* 
there was only a large basket of fruit in vari- 
ety. Nevertheless, I ate with a relish, and the 
fine quality of the wine more than repaid my 
disappointment at the food. I had never 
tasted anything like it in all my life, and drank 
too much, I fear, for I no sooner reached the 
palm again than I fell into a deep slumber. 

When I awoke the sun was past the me- 
ridian. 

After again tasting the excellent wine, I 
took a handful of the fruit and started along 
the coast in the opposite direction from my 
walk in the morning, hoping that I might yet 
be able to find some trace of my poor friend. 
The fair Vesta had not neglected my wardrobe, 
and I felt very awkward at first in the long 
gown that came to my feet and the strange 
sandals that replaced my shoes. 

I stopped suddenly in my walk and stood 
bewildered, for a bright light flashed across my 
face as though some one was reflecting the 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 37 

sun's rays in my eyes with a mirror. Looking 
about, I saw in the distance a great dome tow- 
ering above the trees. The sun was shining 
against the side next to me, and I could not 
look long towards it on account of its dazzling 
brightness, but I judged the entire dome to be 
of pure gold. I pondered a long time on what 
it was, possibly the palace in which lived the 
royal family. 

The sun was nearing the western horizon 
when I returned, and was much startled to find 
a man sitting beneath the palm. As I ap- 
proached he asked with much respect if I was 
the stranger called Angelo. 

As he arose I saw that he was very low of 
stature and altogether a poor specimen of 
manhood to my thinking. 

“How does my name concern thee?” I 
asked, distrustful. 

“ If thou art Angelo, the stranger, guest of 
the fair Princess Vesta, I am to know thee by 
her signet ring upon thy finger.” 


38 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


I held out my hand. 

“ I see thou art the man I was sent to in- 
quire after and to learn if thy food or wine 
needed replenishing,” he said. 

“ Art thou the fair Vesta’s servant?” I in- 
quired. 

He turned quite pale at my speech, and 
his eyes flashed, but he answered with defer- 
ence and much dignity : 

“ I am father of Vesta, seventh princess of 
the house of Diana, youngest and fairest of all 
her children. I am Alleman, favored above all 
men in the kingdom. I see thou art indeed a 
stranger to this land.” 

“I beg thou wilt pardon mine ignorance,” I 
answered, ashamed of my error ; “ I owe thee 
more respect that thou art father of the prin- 
cess, but for whose kindness I should now lie 
dead upon the beach.” 

“ Thine error was most natural, and I for- 
give it,” he answered. “But can I get thee 
nothing ? Dost thou find the wine to thy 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 39 

liking? I have brought another robe that the 
dews of the night may not fall upon thee.” 

“ The wine is most excellent, and thou art 
very kind to remember the robe.” 

“Thou must thank the princess,” he replied. 
'* She will come to see thee when the full moon 
rises.” 

u Pray, good Alleman,” I said, after a pause, 
“ what is the religion of thy people ?” 

“ It were better, in order that thou mayst 
learn the right, thou tell" me of thine own be- 
liefs, that I may inform thee wherein thou dost 
err.” 

I smiled at this assurance, but answered 
him : 

“ First, good Alleman, the people of my 
country believe in one God, supreme, invisi- 
ble ; He has power over the destiny of man 
and all things.” 

“ I see,” he said, “that thou art sprung from 
a race devoid of understanding, and I pity 
thee. What a sad spectacle it must be to see 


40 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

men clinging blindly to an illusion, to fall upon 
their faces to a thing invisible, and which has 
not the power to make itself manifest.” 

To this amusing speech I replied : 

“ I thank thee, Alleman, for thy pity, but in 
order that I may remain in ignorance no longer 
than is necessary, pray inform me whom I 
should worship.” 

“ I will instruct thee, and pray thou never 
forget my words while thou dost here abide. 
The princess hath informed thee, no doubt, 
that the great Queen Diana is immortal — as by 
her grace is Vesta also — and that she it is who 
watches over our lives and allots us places of 
rest in the hereafter according to our merits.” 

“Dost thou worship a woman?” I inquired, 
with scorn. 

“Come, father of the fair Vesta, let us rea- 
son this matter, and I will endeavor to show 
thee that the being I worship is the true God, 
and that the queen thou callest immortal is of 
his handiwork ” 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 41 

“ Dost thou think I would madly rush into 
yonder waves and die ?” he cried aghast. 
“ Even though I am favored above all men, 
and am permitted, on account of my relation 
to the seventh princess of the house, to walk 
in the shadow of the palace, I know the 
bound to my liberties too well to listen to the 
speech of an heretic. If thou wouldst live to 
see the sun rise many times, it were well 
thou gavest no tongue to the ignorance of 
thine heart.” 

With that he turned and sped away among 
the shrubbery, leaving me amazed and 
fearful. I knew not what moment he might 
return with a summons for me to appear be- 
fore the queen to answer for mine heresy. I 
sat down beneath the palm, wondering what 
strange thing would happen to me next, and 
had my boat been on the beach at that mo- 
ment I think I should have again trusted my- 
self to the mercy of the waves. 

I wondered if the beautiful Vesta would pro- 


42 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

tect me against any harm. She had spent 
long hours in watching and nursing me back 
to life, and she seemed very kind, but I knew 
not whether she had taken pity on my dis- 
tressed condition, or whether I was being kept 
for a sacrifice to the immortal queen on the 
next fete day. Altogether I was quite mis- 
erable. 

I thought of my own countjy and my dear 
home with its kindly faces and wondered if I 
should ever be permitted to see them again; 
at present it seemed hopeless. In my loneli- 
ness I offered up the first prayer since I had 
reached this strange land, and I prayed long 
and fervently. When I arose the full moon 
threw its earliest beams through the tree tops. 
I remembered the promise of Alleman : 

“ When the full moon rises she will come 
to visit thee/’ and, despite my fear of Vesta, I 
was joyed that I was so soon to be in her pres- 
ence again. 

All nature seemed to be sleeping and there 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 43 

was not even a cricket’s chirp to break the si- 
lence. 

A neighboring columbine filled the air with 
its fragrance, and the sweet odor of the night- 
blooming cereus soothed my senses. 

Before me the great sea quietly rolled its 
waves toward the beach. All the inquietude 
within me rested as though awed by this se- 
rene spectacle of nature’s grandeur, and my 
heart was full of joy, even though the cruel sea 
had buried my dear friend, and my home and 
loved ones were separated from me by its 
boundless waters. I pray God to send such 
another evening at the going out of my life, 
which I know must be before the seasons 
change many times. 

As the moon’s beams wandered from the 
branches and cast themselves on the grass 
at my feet, I heard the soft tread of footsteps, 
and, turning, beheld the princess. She seemed 
carried along by the gentle breeze, so quietly 
did she approach. 


44 THE ISLE OF feminine. 

“Thou art come!” I exclaimed simply at 
gladness of seeing her. 

“ Is Angelo surprised that I am here? Thou 
didst have my promise,” she said. “ Did my 
father bring thee food and a robe for thy 
greater comfort ?” 

“ Princess,” I replied, “ thou hast misinter- 
preted my speech if it contained a doubt to 
thee. I knew the radiance of thine immortal 
face should shine upon me as surely as the 
moon rose. Thine honored father brought me 
all thou sayest, and I fear I repaid his kindness 
with incivility. Alas, princess, I despair of 
learning the ways of thy people. Thy father 
told me he worshiped the Queen Diana, and 
I but tried to show him in my simple way how 
that there was a greater yet than she whom he 
revered, and he ran away from me as though 
I was a thing accursed. 

“ Thou wert very foolish in thy speech, and 
my father is greatly agitated by his discovery 
of an heretic, as he is pleased to name thee. 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 45 

He pleaded with me to withdraw the protec- 
tion of my signet ring and give thee up to the 
queen as a reviler of the true faith. I fear 
thou hast made him thy mortal enemy.” 

u And wilt thou hearken to him, my prin- 
cess ?” I plead, trembling with fear. 

u Nay, fear not/’ she answered ; “ thou hast 
eaten of the fruit of my gathering and hast 
had my protection ; no dagger lurks in the 
kindness of Vesta.” 

I fell at her feet and kissed the tips of her 
sandals. 

“ Rise, Angelo, and save thine homage for 
the Queen, whom thou must meet tomorrow. 
Thine indiscretion has made it impossible to 
keep thee longer concealed, and I have come 
to prepare thee for thy visit.” 

“ O, princess,” I cried ; “ I fear to meet the 
dread Diana.” 

“ There is no need ; take heed thou offend- 
est not and all will be well. If she ask thee 
questions, answer truthfully and without hesi- 


4 6 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

tation, for the queen can detect a lie, and the 
punishment is death to thy mortal body and 
the transportation of thy soul to eternal dark- 
ness. Do not cringe before her, nor yet be 
too lavish of the compliments thou art wont 
to couch in pretty language, for though I 
smile when thou sayest I am comely, remem- 
ber Diana is the creator of all beauty.” 

“ I will remember thine instructions,” I 
answered. 

“ Then have no fear for thy reception.” 

“ My Princess Vesta,” I ventured, after a 
short silence; I saw today, glistening in the 
sunlight, a great golden dome. Is that the 
Queen’s palace ?” 

“ Thou shalt see.” 

“ On the morrow ?” 

“ On the morrow. It were well for thee to 
sleep now, that thou mayst be refreshed 
against the morrow. 

“ By your leave, I had rather feast mine 
eyes upon thy loveliness, for I am not weary.” 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 47 

" Sleep !” she commanded, and lying down 
by the trunk of the palm, I wrapped about me 
the robe Alleman had brought, and soon felt 
the presence of Vesta only in my dream. 


CHAPTER III. 


On the morrow I arose with the sun, and, 
after bathing my face in the stream which ran 
near by, was ready for whatever the day might 
bring forth. 

I had expected the fair Vesta would come to 
guide me to the palace of the dread Diana, 
and you may imagine with what surprise and 
fear I saw coming through the grove towards 
me the favored Alleman with some dozen at- 
tendants, each appearing to be of less signifi- 
cance than the other. They all wore robes of 
brilliant hues as though dressed for some im- 
portant fete, and the thought of a human sac- 
rifice, of which I should be the victim, filled 
me with horror. I reasoned that the princess 
would have come in person to introduce me 
into the presence of Diana if evil were not in- 
tended ; but still, I remembered her promise 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 49 

that no harm should befall me and was some- 
what reassured. 

As he approached, Alleman made me a low 
obeisance, while his attendants fell upon their 
knees and bowed their uncovered heads. Alle- 
man seemed to have forgotten our conversa- 
tion of the previous evening and greeted me 
pleasantly. 

“ My Angelo,” he said, “ I am come from 
the Princess Vesta to greet thee with the 
morning.” 

“ Thou art the worthy father of my prin- 
cess, and I thank thee for thine hospitality,’’ I 
replied. 

“ I beg thou wilt accept mine apology for 
the seeming rudeness in leaving thee so sud- 
denly on yesterday eve, but I forgot thou wast 
a stranger to our ways.” 

“ Good Alleman, it is I must needs ask thy 
forgiveness that I forgot the courtesy due mine 
honored host.” 

“ Rather say, then, that we both did err, and 

F — 4 


50 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

let us forget, I pray thee, whatever may have 
been unkind in the speech of the other.” 

“ With all my heart,” I replied, joyed that 
my unhappy utterances were so readily forgot- 
ten, and I grasped his hand with much fervor. 

“ Illustrious stranger,” he began, “ I am the 
bearer of a summons from Vesta, seventh prin- 
cess, to appear in my company before the pal- 
ace at the third hour of the day. That hour 
is fast approaching, and I beg thou wilt accom- 
pany me. I have brought thee a robe of finer 
texture than the one thou wearest, with which, 
I pray, thou wilt attire thy person.” 

I thanked him and soon found myself cov- 
ered with a robe of some very fine material, 
and pure white. When I approached Alleman 
in my new garment, he gave me a girdle 
made of fine gold, and a dagger, the hilt of 
which was studded with jewels, while 
about my neck he placed, with his own hands, 
a necklace of gold beads. After admiring my 
attire in silence for some minutes, he said : 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 5 1 

“ Stranger, thou art indeed fair to look upon, 
and I think the queen will be pleased with 
thine appearance.” I thanked him, and we 
started on our journey to the palace. 

I soon found myself in a broad avenue 
hedged on either side by bushes laden with 
full-blown roses, so sweet and perfect I discov- 
ered not a blight on any of them, while above 
our heads the branches met in rich verdure. 
Rare flowers sprang up on every side and per- 
fumed the air with rich fragance. I was en- 
chanted with the grandeur of the scenery. 

ft Good Alleman,” I ventured, as we walked 
along ; “ thinkest thou the majestic queen 
would permit me to remain in this land, her 
loyal and devoted subject ? ,? 

“ As for remaining,” replied Alleman, " I see 
not how thou wilt do otherwise, being the first 
stranger who has ever touched our shores. The 
ships of thy nation come not in sight. But as 
to becoming a subject, the slave of the immor- 
tal queen presumeth not to venture an opinion.” 


52 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


“ But what is thine impression,” I persisted. 
“ Surely there can be no presumption in what 
thou sayest to me as a private individual.” 

“ Privately and with much respect, I would 
ask if thou couldst so readily discard thy be- 
liefs and worship at a strange altar ?” 

I was somewhat taken aback at this unex- 
pected question, but answered him : 

“ Thou knowest, worthy Alleman, how prone 
man is to err, and if I were convinced after 
much teaching that Diana had charge over the 
destiny of man, wouldst thou think ill of me 
did I worship her?” 

“ I know not what to answer thee, but I am 
sure there is nothing would make me falter in 
my belief.” Further conversation was inter- 
rupted, for at that moment there broke upon 
my sight such a mass of brilliant beauty that I 
stood entranced; we had come in full view of 
the royal palace. At first sight I could discern 
nothing but a splendid pile of gold and precious 
stones springing up in the midst of a tropical 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 53 

verdure that could not be surpassed in richness 
of beauty. I saw that the palace was octagon 
in shape and that the main structure seemed en- 
tirely of onyx ; at either corner were two mas- 
sive pillars of jasper richly carved and inlaid 
with gold. The entire building was surmounted 
by a dome of pure gold. As we approached 
this wonderful structure I discovered over the 
entrance an arch of emerald supported by richly 
carved pillars of amethyst, and when I saw in 
the midst of this arch, in letters made with 
diamonds, the sentence, 

PALACE OF PERPETUAL LIFE, 

I halted in amazement and whispered my 
guide : 

“ I no longer doubt the immortality of thy 
queen.” 

“ J u< ^ge not yet,” he replied ; when thou hast 
but beheld her handiwork.” 

We were distant from the palace about three 
hundred yards when Alleman informed me that 
we might not at present go nearer, and that 


54 the isle of feminine. 

he must leave me to enjoy myself as best I 
could in company with his escort while he went 
to inform the royal household of my near ap- 
proach. When he had gone, I looked so long 
upon the palace, that my eyes pained me from 
gazing at such gorgeousness. Then I turned 
my attention to the beings about me. They 
were twelve in number ; the tallest of them 
not more than four and a half feet in height. 
Each man’s face wore the stamp of servitude 
and degradation. I shuddered that the estate 
of man should have grown so lowly, even in 
this unknown island. From the time they had 
fallen down before me under the palm, up to 
this present moment, not one of them had 
uttered a word, and I wondered if they had so 
far degenerated as to have lost the power of 
speech. In order that I might know the truth 
of the matter, I addressed the most evil look- 
ing amongst them, and asked him his name. 

“ Great stranger,” he replied, shrinking with- 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 55 

in himself as much as possible, “ I am called 
Mullane.” 

“ Art thou a servant of the great Diana ? ” 

“ May it please thee, illustrious man, the 
lowliest of her slaves am I.” 

“ What position dost thou hold ? ” I inquir- 
ed further. 

“ Master/’ he answered, “ I carry the bodies 
of mortals to the brink of the dark stream 
which conveys them to the hereafter when the 
immortal queen is pleased that they should de^ 
part the island. 

“ Where is this river of which thou speak 
est?” I asked, but he only pointed toward the 
earth, and would say no further word, although 
I urged him to answer my question. Finding 
him obstinate, I let him alone, and began to 
study the magnificence about me. 

The sun had sped about the fourth of his 
journey. Aside from my escort there was not 
a being visible. To my left, and about a quar- 
t er of a mile distant, I saw a number of houses 


56 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

standing on either side of a shady avenue, but 
there was not a soul to be seen. Even the 
houses seemed to be sleeping, as they lay 
there beneath the tall trees, surrounded by 
fragrant roses. 

I stood looking toward this little village, 
wondering what could keep the inhabitants in 
hiding on such a beautiful morning, when I was 
suddenly aroused by the shrill blast of a bugle, 
and, as if by magic, there appeared in the village 
street a great number of men and women, who 
immediately began to march toward me, the 
females coming first, and the men closing in 
the rear with their disgusting insignificance. 
As soon as they began to approach, my 
escort fell upon their knees, and bowing their 
heads, remained immovable. 

As the people came nearer, I remarked that 
the females were all attired in garments of 
pure white, and that they were lithe of form 
and beautiful. I thought at the time that all 
the old women had remained indoors, but 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 5/ 

learned afterwards that they retained their 
beauty for many years, and that the rushing 
stream of which Mullane told me something, 
saved them from the horror of growing old. 

As the foremost approached, she looked shyly 
into my eyes and said : ^ 

“ By command of the immortal queen, we 
have come to greet thee, fair stranger;” and 
kissing my hand, she moved away. This 
pleasing ceremony was repeated until my hand 
had been imprinted by the lips of more than 
five hundred beautiful women. When they 
had formed an arc on my right, the men ap- 
proached, and one by one fell upon their faces 
and kissed my robe. The sight of these men 
groveling before me filled my soul with disgust, 
and I marveled that the women had treated 
me with such marked respect when they had 
driven to degradation my sex of their own land. 

The men formed a group on my left while 
ten females appeared at the entrance of the 
palace and drew across the smooth surface to- 


58 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

ward us a car which, on near approach, I dis- 
covered to be a chair of state, up to which led 
three steps on either side. Above was spread 
a canopy of gold cloth to ward off the sun. No 
sooner was the car stopped, than the maidens 
spread around and before it rich rugs, placing 
directly opposite me one of greater beauty than 
the others. All these arrangements completed, 
they retired again to the entrance of the palace 
from which issued immediately Diana and the 
seven princesses of her house. At sight of the 
queen all the beautiful females on my right 
bent the knee and five hundred musical voices 
shouted, “All hail to the immortal queen 
while the men fell upon their faces and re- 
peated with much groaning, the words I had 
heard issue from the lips of Alleman : “ May 

the frown of her wrath never fall upon me.” 

Not knowing what was expected of me, I re- 
mained perfectly motionless. 

The queen was seated in her chair of state 
and the six princesses reclined on the steps 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 59 

leading up to her. The Princess Vesta came 
forward, and taking my hand led me before the 
queen. Up to that time I had not found 
courage to look upon Diana, and now, when I 
saw her face, I started at beholding her im- 
mortal beauty. 

“Angelo,” said Vesta, “ I have brought thee 
into the presence of Queen Diana.” 

“ Dread queen, I greet thee with an humble 
heart.” 

“ Rise, fair stranger,” said Diana, and her 
words thrilled me like an electric shock ; “ for 
I see thou are not used to bow the knee to the 
ruler of thy country, and as yet thou owest me 
no homage. Now that thou art recovered 
somewhat from the fatigue of thy perilous 
journey, tell me what thou thinkest of the Isle 
of Feminine ?” 

il Infinite being/’ I replied, “ my country- 
man’s dream of immortality is not fairer than 
thine island ; as for thyself and the seven 
princesses of thine house, it would ill become 


6o 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


the tongue of mortal man to presume a com- 
ment on thine immortal beauty.” 

The fair Vesta, seated at the feet of Diana, 
smiled upon me as though well pleased at my 
deportment. 

“ Vesta,” said the queen, “bid thy father 
dismiss my subjects, yet send my command 
that they appear again before the palace when 
the moon has risen, to further welcome our 
stranger guest with merriment and the dance. 
Fair Angelo,” she continued, turning to me, “I 
may not be capable of returning thee presently 
to thy country, for no vessels pass our shores, 
and among my subjects are no men skilled in 
craft building, but I trust thou wilt not pine 
too much for thine home, and, may be, some 
day thou wilt be content to remain on this 
island. I have sent away my people that they 
may not weary thee, and now, that Vesta has 
returned, we will descend from our chair, and, 
if it please thee, we will walk down an avenue 
to the beach, where I will have fruit and wine 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 6l 

brought for our refreshment. What say ye,, 
my princesses, to my proposal ?” 

They answered with one voice : 

“ The queen's pleasure is ours." 

“ And what sayeth Angelo ?” 

“ My queen,” I replied, “ I am thy servant.’* 

“Now, by my power, thou sayest not true; 
thou art the queen’s guest.” 

“ I am unworthy the great honor the queen 
is pleased to bestow.” 

“ Nay, I cannot believe so fair a form could 
contain a soul that is vile.” 

“ Great Diana, I meant not that, but I re- 
member. thou art immortal.” 

“ Thou didst mean nothing at all to my 
thinking,” she said, and, for the first time, I saw 
her smile. “ I believe thou art come from a 
land where man is superior to woman in in- 
tellect and wisdom, and, in pity of their weak- 
ness, is ever pleasing them with pretty say- 
ings. Am I not right, my Angelo ?” 

“ It is true, O queen, that, in my country* 


62 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


man’s intellect is superior in the main, but, to 
say as much there would bring about mine 
ears such a whirr of feminine protest that I 
should do well to escape with my sense of 
hearing. 

Said Melpomene, first princess of the house : 

“ Here, thou seest, it is different.” 

“ My princess,” I replied, somewhat sadly, 
“ I have noted.” 

Then spake Thalia, the blue-eyed, golden- 
haired, laughing Thalia, sixth princess of the 
house : 

“ My Angelo, tell us something of thine 
home. Is it as large as our island ?” 

“I cannot tell,” I replied, “until I know the 
extent on thine island.” 

“ It is very large — our shores measure more 
than eighty furlongs.” 

“And thou thinkest thine island so great, I 
fear thou wilt doubt when I say that the 
shores of my country measure many thousand 
furlongs, and that the cities are many which 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 63 

would cover more square miles than is in thy 
kingdom.” 

u And are all the men as fair and strong as 
thou,” asked Thalia. 

I flushed with pleasure that I had come to a 
land where I was counted fair, for at home my 
mother used to say : 

“ All the beauty thou hast, shines from thine 
honest heart, Andrew.” Yet, I answered 
Thalia truthfully, that she would wrong my 
countrymen to judge of them by my own un- 
prepossessing features. The queen, who had re- 
mained silent for a long time, now addressed me: 

“ Stranger,” she said, “ I have noticed, in all 

thy praise of my kingdom, no approval of our 
• * 
men.” 

“ Great queen,” I replied, “ Alleman, father 
of the fair Princess Vesta, has treated me with 
much kindness.” 

“ Thine answer is fair and courteous, but our 
men are not like thee, Angelo ; thou dost put 
them to shame, and I like it not.” 


6 4 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


“ If I be taller than they, it is the fault of 
my creator,” I answered. 

“ But I would have them like unto thee.” 

“ That can never be,” was my unhappy com- 
ment. 

“ What sayest thou ?” she questioned, 
quickly, and I saw a strange fire in her eye. 
“ Thinkest thou there is anything impossible to 
the immortal queen ? But live, and I will show 
thee men so tall and fair thou shalt hide away 
for shame.” 

I was about to make reply, but I read the 
meaning of Vesta’s look, and was silent. 
When we returned to the palace, the queen led 
me to a magnificent tent, which had been 
raised during our absence, and was just so far 
away that the shadow of the palace fell not upon 
it. The queen noticed the position, and imme- 
diately had Alleman brought before her. When 
he appeared, trembling and humble, she 
frowned darkly upon him, and I feared it was 
all over with poor Alleman. 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 65 

“Did I not bid thee, Alleman,” she said, “to 
place the stranger’s tent beneath the branches 
of yonder tree, in order that he might be shel- 
tered from the midday sun ?’’ 

“ Dread queen, thou didst so command, but 
when I went to pitch the tent, I found the 
shadow of the palace fell upon it.” 

“And thou wouldst have no other man in 
my kingdom favored as thou art ? Place the 
tent as I commanded thee and for thy disobe- 
dience, appear not tonight at the dance. 
Thinkest thou, ignorant man, that I would 
show my guest less favor than the greatest of 
my subjects ? Stranger,’’ she said, turning to 
me, “ I will leave thee now, and I would advise 
thee to repose awhile after Alleman has re- 
moved thy tent. I will come for thee at even- 
tide.’’ 

I set about assisting in the removal of my 
abode, sorry indeed to have been the unwilling 
cause of bringing such reproof upon Alleman’s 
head. 

F— 6 


66 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


“ Good Alleman, I regret to have caused 
thee so much trouble.” 

He gave me a malicious look, but did not 
answer. 

“ Thou art not angry with me ?” I ques- 
tioned. “ I trust thou wilt not think I am try- 
ing to steal thine honors, for I had rather re- 
main under a burning sun than incur thy dis- 
pleasure.” 

“ It is not out of consideration for thee, but 
by the queen’s command that I am removing 
the tent. The sun might burn thee up for all I 
care,” he answered, sullenly. 

“ Let us be friends,” I plead, “and I will ask 
the queen to recall the sentence that banishes 
thee from tonight’s merriment.” 

“ Nay, I had rather be banished from the 
queen’s sight forever than call thee friend. 
Thou art a serpent come out of the great sea 
to steal the queen’s love from her royal sub- 
jects, and I hate thee.” Saying this, he turned 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 67 

and walked rapidly away, and I knew he was 
my enemy. 

With a heavy heart, I went inside the tent 
and lay down to rest. Despite my grief at 
losing Alleman’s friendship, I soon fell into a 
refreshing sleep, from which I did not awake 
until the queen came to command my presence 
at the dance. 

When I opened my eyes, Diana was stand- 
ing before me. Her face shone with a radi- 
ance which paled the moonbeams as they fell 
upon her glossy hair. 

“ Angelo/’ she said, in a hurried voice, when 
she saw that I was awake, “ tomorrow I shall 
issue a decree admitting thee within the gates of 
the palace, for, though I am immortal and have 
charge over the souls of men, it extends only 
to the inhabitants of this island, and I know 
there are many things in thy great world which 
I fain would learn. Swear to me, if I admit 
thee, thou wilt never divulge our conversations 
whilst thou art my guest.” 


68 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


" Great queen,” I replied, very much bewil- 
dered, “Thou doest thy servant too much 
honor, but I swear by thine immortal beauty to 
do whatever thou dost bid me.” 

“ Nay, stranger, swear by the gods of thine 
own household.” 

“I swear,” I replied solemnly. 

Together we walked out into the moonlight, 
and far into the night I sat with the queen at 
my right and Vesta at my left, feasting my 
eyes on the rich beauty of the dancing women, 
my senses lulled by the strains of rich music 
floating from invisible instruments. 


CHAPTER IV. 


The sun had traveled a fourth of his journey 
when I arose, for the moon was low when the 
dancing had ceased and I had sunk upon the 
rich rugs in my tent to sleep and dream of the 
eventful day, the pretty dancing maidens and 
the melodies of hidden harps. 

I found in one corner of my tent a great 
golden basin filled with scented waters which 
was a joy to me, being now deprived of the 
sparkling water of the little brook which ran 
near the palm by the seashore. After per- 
forming my morning ablutions, I partook of a 
breakfast of fruit which seemed to be the only 
food on the island. I had yet to see any 
animal wild or domesticated, or any grain 
growing, and I wondered greatly how the 
materials were obtained for the rich robes the 
inhabitants wore. I marveled too, that I had 
regained my strength without the assistance of 


yo THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

meat, but everything that happened to me now 
was so strange and unusual that I had come to 
take things as I found them. Had I been a 
scientist instead of the plain-going citizen that 
I was and still am, I most certainly would have 
died for want of proper nourishment, in that I 
would not have been able to understand how a 
man once nourished by animal food could possi- 
bly subsist on the fruits of the tropics. But I 
was too thankful that the sea was not lashing 
itself into a fury above my bones to question 
what nourished me and returned my strength. 

Wandering toward the village which I was 
anxious to inspect, I saw coming out of one of 
the houses many people who turned down the 
avenue in the direction I was going, and being 
eager to learn what the matter was I hurried 
up to them. I found the procession headed by 
my friend Mullane, followed by four men 
bearing a body on a litter, and I at once 
divined that Mullane was performing the duties 
of his doleful position. 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. Ji 

Immediately after the corpse, walked the 
queen and her household, and behind them the 
inhabitants. When Diana saw me she mo- 
tioned me to her side. 

“I did not think thou wouldst care to see 
these rites, else I would have called for thee. 
This morning I returned the soul of a subject 
to paradise, and we are conveying his body to 
the dark river. Wilt thou accompany us ?” 

“ If I do not intrude, my queen, I crave thy 
permission to do so.” 

I walked silently and awed by the side of this 
immortal being who had in her keeping the 
souls of her subjects and had power to send 
them to perdition or paradise as she willed 
The more I saw of her power the more I feared 
her. I knew not what moment she might take 
offense at some saying of mine and kill me with 
one look of those unearthly eyes.” 

“ Diana,” I ventured, “I see no mourners in 
this funeral train. Had the dead no relatives or 
f riends ?” 


72 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

“ Yea, many ; but why should any weep be- 
cause of his transportation to eternal joy ?” 

“ But dost thou inform thy subjects when 
thou sendest a soul to paradise and likewise 
when it is doomed to the darkness of hell ?” 

“ Thou must think Diana indeed a cruel 
queen,” she answered; “ that she could bid a 
soul depart this island and let its friends con- 
jecture of its destination. If I send the father 
to paradise the child is glad, and if to eternal 
torment, the offspring weeps until its grief is 
spent and then forgets. Moreover, I banish no 
soul to darkness forever. In a generation or 
two I recall them and let them try again for 
paradise. I see no reason why there should 
be any mystery about it. Tell me, Angelo, in 
thy country when thy friend dies, knowest thou 
not if his soul wings its flight to paradise ?” 

“ We can only hope,” I replied sadly. 

“ And if his whole life is given up to slander 
and hypocrisy, dost thou still hope, Angelo ?” 

“ Yea, great queen, for it is alone with God 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 73 

to judge, and man knows not but that the expir- 
ing breath may have sent a prayer to heaven 
which unbarred the gates.” 

“ Thou hast a strange religion and I would 
question thee more concerning it hereafter, but 
now we have come to the mouth of the cave 
which leads to the dark river.” 

As the queen spoke the men came to a halt 
and placed the pall upon the ground, while all 
the people gathered about. The face of the 
dead was uncovered and the inhabitants looked 
for the last time upon their friend and neighbor. 
Then, the queen, holding her right hand over 
the body as if in benediction, bid it adieu. 

u Swift be thy journey on the waves of the 
dark rolling stream which shall carry thee from 
us forever. The spirit thou didst serve is in 
paradise with the souls of all those whom Diana 
loved ; henceforth thou art useless to the im- 
mortal queen and her subjects.” 

At the conclusion of the queen’s words all 
the inhabitants fell upon their faces and cried : 


74 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


" Wise and just and holy is Diana.” 

“ Mullane,” commanded the queen, “ per- 
form the duties of thine office and the queen 
and her household and all the inhabitants turned 
to depart. 

“ My queen,” I said, “I crave thy permission 
to accompany Mullane on his journey.” 

“ Thou shalt see little but darkness and hear 
the madly rushing river dash against the rocks. 
The way is steep and rugged, and thou art not 
used to such things, but thou mayest go. Mul- 
lane, see no harm comes to the stranger who 
desires to accompany thee.” 

I thanked the queen and followed Mullane 
with the body thrown across his shoulder into 
the cave. 

We had not gone far. before total darkness 
surrounded us and I found we were descending 
into the earth by means of steps cut into the 
solid rock. I put out my hands and found this 
strange stairway so narrow I could touch the 
walls on either side. 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 75 

Before me I could hear the even tread of 
Mullane as he walked steadily on, carrying his 
burden. As we descended deeper and deeper 
into the bowels of the earth a great fear seized 
me, my knees trembled and my head grew 
light. I think I most certainly would have 
fainted had we not at that moment come to a 
place where the steps turned suddenly off to 
the right and I felt a rush of cold air from 
below which gave me new energy. 

Far in the distance beneath I saw a faint 
light, so dim and hazy as only to be percepti- 
ble on account of the intense darkness where I 
stood. 

“ Mullane,” I said, “Tell me what is yonder 
light ?” 

“ Great stranger, the light thou seest is a 
reflection of the phosphoric arch above the 
dark river. The queen’s servant before me 
told me it existed by command of the immortal 
Diana, to make as cheerful as possible the 
dreary road we all must travel, but he taught me 


y6 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

very little about this strange way, for he only 
came with me once and the next time I de- 
scended this long flight of stairs he was on my 
shoulder. 

Mullane seemed more at home in this dark 
alley than in the magnificent groves on the 
island, and finding him inclined to talk I ques- 
tioned him as we walked. 

“How long hast thou held thine office ?” I 
asked. 

“ The flowers have blossomed and faded thirty 
summers since first I listened to the waves dash- 
ing madly against the rocks. I was young then, 
and I loved a pretty maid, but the queen com- 
manded, and Diana lives forever. Now I am 
old and I have seen nothing but blackness 
and horror and death, and rushing waters moan 
continually in mine ears. But I have grown 
used to it, mighty stranger, and the end can 
only be a few years distant.” 

“ But hast thou no assistant in thine odious 
office ? Surely the queen does not expect thee 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 77 

to carry hither thy father and family and give 
them to the dismal river?” 

“Thou art mistaken, for I have carried to this 
place the body of my father and the graceful 
form of my mother, but though my heart was 
broken at the task, no man may murmur at the 
commands of Diana. When the maiden 
whom I loved faded away with grief for my 
slavery, like some tender flower which droops 
and dies when the sun sends his scorching 
rays upon it, I came with her down these 
gloomy steps, not on my shoulder as I carry 
this body, but folded to my breast, with her 
sunny curls falling in rich masses over mine 
arm, and her cold cheek pressed closely 
against my weather beaten face. My heart 
groaned with new misery as each step led me 
nearer our separation, and when I reached the 
brink an evil thought possessed me, and I gave 
not the body of my loved one to the current, but 
lay it tenderly upon the stone floor and re- 
turned again unto the light of day. But the 


yS THE ISLE OF FEMININE, 

eye of the queen never sleeps and no sooner 
had I entered the village than she commanded 
me to appear before her. I went penitent and 
afraid to the place where she was, and she said 
to me kindly, and methought with a tinge of 
of sadnes in her voice : — 

“ ‘ Mullane, I know thy task is hard and 
odious, but be of good cheer, for I promise 
thee by the sacred power of mine eternal throne, 
that, whatever be thy faults, thou shalt live 
forever in paradise with the sweet maiden who 
grieved away her young life in pity of thy 
slavery/ ‘ And Mullane,’ she added, * when 
three days have elapsed, return again to the 
river, and if thou hast omitted any part of thy 
duty, amend thy fault if it lieth in thy power.’ ” 
" And didst thou obey the queen’s com- 
mand?” I inquired eagerly. 

“Yea, I did return again on the third day, 
but we near the river as thou knowest by the 
sound of dashing waves, and I would ask thee 
whether the fear of eternal perdition could 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


79 


persuade thee to obey the queen’s direction.” 

As he spoke we came to the end of that 
dark stairway which descends, as I learned 
afterwards, by two thousand steps cut through 
the solid rock. I found we were standing in a 
great cavern, the extent of which I could not 
discern in that dim, hazy light. 

Before us swept the dark river. 

Mullane, bidding me wait, went forward and 
deposited his burden on the bosom of the 
swift current. Returning, he took my hand and 
led me toward the river. Lying there on the 
damp stone, with one arm gracefully support- 
ing her head, lay a maiden who seemed in 
gentle sleep. Bending over her I saw that the 
spray from the river fell upon her drooping 
lashes so that she appeared still to grieve for 
the fate of her lover. 

“Tell me, master,” whispered Mullane eager- 
ly, “ shall I hazard the queen’s anger, or must 
I disturb her peaceful slumber. 

For answer I bent and kissed the snowy 


8o 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


forehead before me, while the tears streamed 
down my weather-beaten face. There are times 
in the life of a man when he may without weak- 
^ ness weep for the misfortunes of others. 

Mullane fell down and kissed my sandals. 

“I understand the language of thy silence, 
O, Angelo, and for thy kindness I shall wor- 
ship thee hereafter as a god. I did fear thee 
at first, but I see thou hast a soul that can pity, 
and I believe thine arm would ever be strong 
in the defense of the weak.” 

I took him by the hand and lifted him up, 
too full of emotion to speak to this man, who 
for love defied the gods of his religion. Sadly 
we turned to depart. 

“ O, Angelo,” said Mullane, “ I pray that 
when the queen sends my spirit to the bright 
land where dwell those I love, thou wilt tell 
her my story, and persuade her if thou canst, 
to lay my body down to rest by the side of 
her who pitied me in life, and broke her gentle 
spirit in grief for my slavery.” 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 8 1 

“ Be assured, Mullane, the queen knows thy 
story and that the lovely maiden lies sleeping 
by the river, better than I might tell ; but if I 
am on the island when thou goest on thy long 
journey, I will plead with her to grant thy re- 
quest.” As I finished speaking we plunged 
into the impenetrable darkness again and be- 
gan our ascent towards the sunlight. 

“ Hast thou ever noticed the whiteness of my 
hair?” asked Mullane, when we had traveled 
half the distance and had come to where the 
stairway turned. 

“ I have observed it often,” I replied. 

“ Twenty years ago,” he said, “ while I was 
still young, I stepped into this alley with my 
hair black as the night about me, and when I 
emerged it was white as you see it now. I 
was carrying away the body of a young girl, 
and when I had gotten to this turn I felt the 
corpse move, and a faint sigh came from the 
maiden’s lips. I grew cold and my hair stood 
on end. When the dim light of the cavern fell 

F— 6 


82 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


upon her face I saw that she was looking at 
me with her large, pleading eyes. I knew not 
what to do, at first thinking she still lived, 
but the queen had said the maiden’s spirit 
was in paradise, so I knew she must be dead, 
and I carried her looking at me as she was to 
the river’s brink, and cast her in. When she 
touched the water, a shriek escaped her, so 
shrill and clear that it seemed to pierce the 
rocks and the echo rebounded from side to side 
until it died away in a low moan.” 

“ Why,” I asked, hurrying on toward the 
light, “ Why didst thou cast her to the devour- 
ing waves if life remained in her ?” 

" The queen had said farewell,” he replied, 
“ and though I had never seen the like before, 
Diana had bidden me convey her to the river 
and I could but obey. But I cannot understand 
how that the maiden opened her eyes, and that 
pitiful shriek still remains in mine ears.” 

I was overcome with joy when we emerged 
from that dark stairway and I felt the cool 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 83 

breeze fan my face. I did not regret the 
journey, but the horror of what I had seen and 
heard chilled me. 

In the village I met Alleman, who, with a 
malicious look, gave me a parchment bearing 
the great seal of the kingdom. With a tremb- 
ling hand I unrolled it and read : 

“ To Angelo, the stranger, Diana, the im- 
mortal queen, sends greeting. When thou 
hast rested from thy journey, the queen com- 
mands thy presence at the gates of the palace. 

“ Written by command of the queen, in the 
year of her reign Three Thousand Five Hun- 
dred and Two. Melpomene.” 


CHAPTER V. 


The sun was low when I appeared at the 
beautiful entrance of the palace in obedience 
to the queen’s command, and while waiting for 
admittance I saw the last of his glorious beams 
paint the tree tops with gold as he sank into 
the western sea. 

I grieved to see the sun set, for I was on the 
threshold of a mysterious place, and knew not 
whether for me the glorious orb would ever 
again rise out of the great deep and fill the 
world with vapor as he drank up the dews of 
the night. The will of Diana concerning me 
remained as much a mystery as on the day I 
first appeared humbly in her presence. Stand* 
ing there beneath the jeweled arch, I drank in 
the rich beauties before me with the eagerness 
of a man looking for the last time on the world 
before the light of his eyes faded away forever. 
My spirit was oppressed with a feeling unde- 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 85 

fined and dreadful. I stood awaiting my doom 
and my conscience rested heavy upon me, for 
had I not under the influence of this dread 
queen, wavered, nay, almost forsaken the dear 
religion instilled into me when I lisped at my 
mother’s side. 

In the midst of these gloomy thoughts the 
dark eyes of Melpomene rested upon me, and 
a voice sweet as the nightingale’s song, bade 
me pass the portals of the palace. All the 
household save the queen stood to greet me. 

“ Stranger,” said Melpomene, “ in the name 
of the immortal Diana, I welcome thee to the 
palace of perpetual life.” 

“The queen’s servant is most grateful,” I 
answered. 

“ Thou art ever humble. Canst thou not re- 
member that the queen considers thee not her 
servant, but her guest from a far country? 
Nevertheless, as thou art a man, and the first 
who ever stood within these sacred walls, I 
would have thee swear by the truthfulness of thy 


86 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


religion, thou wilt never divulge whilst on this 
island, what thou dost here behold. 

“ I swear.” 

“ And I,” said the second princess, whose 
name has faded from my memory (as indeed 
have also the names of others), “ I would have 
thee swear to touch none of the sacred relics 
of the palace.” 

To each princess I swore according as pleased 
her until I stood before Thalia. 

“Angelo, stranger in a strange land, guest of 
the immortal queen,” said she, “ the comedy of 
my life suggests nothing sufficiently serious to 
call for thine oath, but I would thou wouldst 
ever smile in my presence that I may forget 
thou art a mortal.” 

“O, princess, thou dost bind me to an easy 
task,” I made answer, “ for who could be sad 
in the sunlight of thy merry eyes?” 

Then I saw the seventh princess to whom I 
owed so much-— Vesta, who had nursed me 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 8 / 

back to life, and had ever been my friend, and 
she bade me take no oath : 

“ For,” said she, “ I am sure thine honor 
needs not to be strengthened by vows to the 
gods of thy religion.” 

“ May God forget me, princess, on the day I 
betray thy confidence,” I answered, my heart 
filled with gratitude. 

“ We must leave thee now, for the queen 
awaits thy coming,” said Thalia, “ and I trust 
thou wilt make Diana thy friend forever.” 

When they had gone I stood bewildered; I 
had but to part the rich hangings to find myself 
at the foot of the throne, yet I hesitated to ac- 
cept that honor never before enjoyed by mortal 
man. From within floated the sound of the 
lute, so low and sweet that I stood enchanted, 
nor moved until the music died away ; then I 
parted the draperies and stood before the 
queen, who reclined on a low couch where the 
faint light entered the chamber and fell upon 
her face. She did not appear to notice my 


88 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

entrance and I crossed the chamber and knelt 
down by her side. 

‘‘Great queen,” I said,” thy servant is here 
in obedience to thy royal command. ” 

“ Thou art welcome to my palace,” she 
answered, and bade me sit down by her side. 

“ I have been watching the day expire, An- 
gelo. Didst thou ever mark how peacefully it 
dies away, and how quietly the night is born?” 

“ I stood but now at the door of the palace, 
awed by the grandeur of the sun as he sank 
down to rest in the western sea,” I replied. 

“ It is of the sunset, the gentle breeze, the 
vast ocean and all the great creations of some 
God greater than I, that I would converse with 
thee. To the inhabitants of my kingdom, I am 
supreme ruler of the universe, and it is well ; 
but there was a beginning to my existence. 
Although thirty-five centuries have rolled by 
and found me queen, yet the earth and the sun 
were made and I found the elements were be- 
fore me. I recognize a being infinite, a creator 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 89 

of all things, and to that divine power I bow 
and pay tribute in secret.” 

I made answer to the queen : 

“ It is that supreme God I worship.” 

“ Sayest thou so, mine Angelo ? Doth the 
traditions of thy religion tell how that this 
great Creator made the world and conceived 
the plans of the universe, illimitable as space ? 
How he made man in his own image and con- 
centrated all the wisdom of His practice in 
that most perfect of his handiwork — woman ? 
Tell me, stranger, doth thy religion teach thee 
this ?” 

“ Thou hast said.” 

Then change not thy beliefs for thou dost 
worship the father of immortality, and I only 
ask thy devotion, being one of his children. 
Has he sent no queen to rule over thy country 
as I have charge over the souls on this island ?” 

“Diana,” I answered, “ He did send His son 
to that land which lies beyond thy kingdom, 
but they murdered him. He rose from the 


90 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

tomb, and ascended into paradise where He 
still pleads with the Creator for the souls of 
men* and they who hearken to the words He 
spake while on earth may find rest in the bright 
land beyond the stars.” 

Diana arose from the couch and walked 
about the chamber. I saw that she was striv- 
ing to subdue some deep passion which had 
taken possession of her, but when she returned, 
she seemed not to have been disturbed, and 
said : 

“Let us speak no more tonight of that 
divine being they murdered ; only tell me, 
Angelo, it was thy sex who insulted the gods 
that I may know the women of thy country 
ever love and are tender.” 

“ History records not the name of any 
female, but loved and showed him devotion/* 
I answered. 

“And was this son of the infinite God born 
upon earth of earthly parents ? * 9 


“ So it is recorded, my queen.” 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. QI 

“ It must be that He has found means of 
passing the angel who guards Eden’s gates, 
and has partaken of the fruit of the tree of 
life. My stranger guest, it is over thirty five 
centuries since I landed upon this island, an 
infant in the arms of my mother, driven hither 
by adverse winds. I remember nothing of that 
perilous journey, nor the cause of our sailing 
on the great sea, for my parents died before I 
had arrived at the age of understanding, and 
not one of the company with us ever took in- 
terest enough in me to converse about it. 

“ The only legacy my father left me was the 
large scroll thou seest by the throne. The first 
eight years of my life were spent in destitution 
and misery, living by the alms of an indifferent 
people, seeking shelter from the dews under 
some scraggy shrub, and hiding from the rains 
beneath the ledge of some rock, for the island 
was then wild and rugged. In the ninth year 
of my unfortunate existence, a wise old seer, 
whom all the people called Rabbi, suddenly 


92 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

conceived an interest in me, and taking me one 
day upon his knee spake these words, which 
I have ever treasured : 

“ ‘ Little daughter, thou art fatherless, home- 
less, unfortunate and miserable. I have suf- 
fered none of the men to give thee aught save 
bread for the bare preservation of thy life, for 
I have in store for thee great things, and it 
was necessary to school thee in misery.’ 

“Then he brought from his tent a large 
scroll like unto the one thou seest before thee, 
and read therefrom how that a great Creator 
had made the world and the fullness thereof, 
and how He had made man and woman and 
placed them in the beautiful garden where they 
had dominion over all living things upon the 
earth; how that the women ate of a fruit 
which she was forbidden by the God to touch, 
and in consequence she and the man were 
driven from the garden, and an angel with a 
sword of fire guarded the entrance, lest they 
should return and partake of the tree of 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 93 

life and become immortal Gods. Many days 
he read to me, never commenting on this won- 
drous story of creation and sin, but one day he 
told me to come to him again after I had seen the 
new moon twelve times and make a request 
which he would grant were it in his power. In 
the meantime he taught me to read the charac- 
ters in the scroll, and then the time allotted for 
study was expired and I came before him to 
name my wish, I was neither ignorant nor mis- 
erable, for the rabbi had taught me a knowl- 
edge possessed in that age by none of my sex. 

“ ‘ Rabbi,’ I said one morning, * the time is at 
hand for thee to hear my prayer ; thou remem- 
brest ? 9 

“‘Yea, my daughter,’ he replied, ‘ the seer 
hath not forgotten ; say on.’” 

“ Can Angelo conjecture my petition ?” 

" I know not how to answer thee,” I replied. 
“ God once commanded a great king to choose 
what he would have ; great riches, victory over 
his enemies or wisdom, and he chose wisdom 


94 the isle of feminine. 

that he might rule his people with justice and 

mercy. But thou art a woman, Diana, and I 

cannot answer thee unless thou didst request 

perpetual life and the beauty of the immortal 

gods.” 

“ Thou hast guessed my desire in part, al- 
though I thought not of beauty.” I said to the 
rabbi : 

“ ‘ My father, I would have power to pass 
the angel who stands guard by Eden’s gate and 
partake of the tree of life.’ 

“ ‘ Daughter/ the rabbi made answer, 
‘daughter, thy prayer can only be granted thee 
by unceasing toil on thy part, but if thou 
wouldst make the trial I will aid thee so far as 
it lieth in my power.’ 

“ I cried eagerly : 

“ ‘ Speak that which I must do, for I have 
ever known privation, and misery has been my 
companion all my life. I fear not the dangers 
which beset my path ; only instruct thy pupil 
that she may depart on her journey.’ 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 95 

“ * My child/ said the rabbi, f I bless thee 
that thou art ready to undertake a task which 
may regain that which the first mother lost 
through disobedience. Break no law of na- 
ture, and commit not even in thought, the sin 
which drove our parents from the garden.’ 

“ When he had spoken these words he re- 
turned unto his tent and the next day they car- 
ried him to the dark river. 

“ For the second time in life I found myself 
without a friend, but I cared not for the friend- 
ship of these people so long as I could procure 
from the trees and vines sufficient food on which 
to live. So without assistance from a living 
man I started on my journey, with only the 
advice of the good rabbi for my guide. I think, 
mine Angelo, thou wilt appreciate how difficult 
it was for one of my age to fully comprehend 
the meaning of that advice, and in ignorance 
of its full purport, how impossible it would be 
to follow. For days together I read the char- 
acters in the scroll and pondered on their in- 


g6 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

tent. First I noticed in the sacred writings 
that our primitive parents, prior to the time 
the supreme God drove them forth from the 
garden, used for food only the fruits which 
grew therein, and I concluded, after much 
thought, that the Creator intended man not to 
eat of the flesh of animals. 

“ It was not difficult for me to follow the ex- 
ample of our first parents in this respect, for I 
had not tasted meat in all my life. At the age 
of twelve I had decided to my satisfaction 
what nature intended for her children, and be- 
ing ever careful not to disobey the least of her 
laws, I began to ponder on the second portion 
of the seer’s advice. I say to you, my guest, 
that I nearly gave up the attempt to find the tree 
of life. 

“ If this Eden was a material garden upon 
the earth, it was very evident it was not planted 
upon this wild island, every foot of which I 
knew, while to reach the great world beyond 
the boundless ocean was a task I deemed im- 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 97 

possible. Even could I have found this Eden 
and been able to pass by the angel, how should 
I distinguish the tree of life from that other 
which lost for our first parents the blessings of 
immortality. Seasons came and passed, and 
I grew from childhood to womanhood, but I 
seemed no nearer the goal than when I first 
started, until one night a bright being stood 
before me in my dream and said : 

“ * Diana, the gods have noted how patiently 
thou has striven to attain the object of thy 
search, and they have sent me hither to aid 
thee in thy task. Know, thou child of earth, 
that the tree of knowledge and the tree of life 
stand not in the midst of the garden in the ma- 
terial sense, as thou thinkest. If thou dost sin 
against nature by remaining awake all through 
the darkness, thou art made aware of thine er- 
ror by the heaviness of thine eyelids. Read 
again from the scroll and learn/ 

“ On the morrow I searched eagerly through 
the characters on the parchment to learn the 

F — 7 


98 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

meaning of the angel’s words, but it was many 
days before the light broke and I saw that to 
partake of the forbidden fruit was to experi- 
ence in thought or deed, a passionate love.” 

“ And didst thou find the tree of life ? ” I 
asked eagerly. 

“The end of my story is not far distant ; be 
patient and thou shalt judge for thyself. Ever 
shunning what I believed to be the dreaded 
tree, and watching ever lest I should break na- 
ture’s commands, I lived on and though children 
were born upon the island, and grew to be men 
and women — grew old and departed on that 
mysterious journey — I lived ever in the spring- 
time of life. As I grew older in years the 
beauty of my youth seemed only to deepen, 
and the children of these people who despised 
me in mine infancy because I was helpless, re- 
vered and worshiped me until I found the re- 
ligion of the old rabbi was forgotten, and I de- 
clared myself their queen and keeper of the 
souls of men. Thou seest, Angelo, how that I 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 99 

have changed a desolate island into a paradise 
and have built this palace to mine immortal 
glory. I have counted the years of my reign, 
and they are three thousand five hundred and 
two, and so I would ask thee, fair stranger, if 
thou dost think I have partaken of the tree of 
life and become a child of the infinite God.” 

“ O, queen,” I cried, “ I no longer doubt 
thine immortality and henceforth will I pour 
out my spirit in prayer to thee.” 

“ Arise, Angelo, nor change thy religion. I 
but ask thy friendship. Alas ! it is not given me 
to know if I have ever attained that which I did 
seek from childhood, and it may be that I wan- 
der amongst the trees of that garden shunning 
alike the forbidden fruit and the tree of life, 
because I cannot distinguish the difference. I 
am ever watchful lest the serpent steal in and 
beguile me.” 

“ It must be, O, queen, that thou hast found 
the secret of perpetual life, else how could the 
centuries roll by and find thee young and 


100 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


beautiful. For ages have the inhabitants of my 
country sought this fountain that they might 
bathe in its waters and grow young ; but they 
ever seek a stream of bright water bubbling 
from the earth, or a river of fire rolling along 
beneath its surface while they dissipate the 
youthfulness of the soul with blinded passion 
and pleasing lust.” 

Diana smiled. 

“ I fear the men of thy land have yet to learn 
that great blessings can only be found at the 
end of a long and painful journey, and ever 
seek to reward the heart by the performance of 
tasks that are carnal and concern not the soul. 
But I must bid thee good night, for my eyelids 
grow weary and I would sleep.” 

I left the queen and sought my tent, but not 
to sleep. Lying on the rich rug, I saw in the 
moonlight the jeweled sentence above the en- 
trance of the palace, and the brilliant reflection 
burned into my soul the truthfulness of what 
it so boldly asserted. 


CHAPTER VI. 


“ Here ye ! here ye ! servants of the queen,” 
came the voice of the favored Alleman on the 
pure morning air and awoke me out of a sound 
slumber. Sharp and malicious sounded his 
words, and I detected a dislike for the duty he 
was performing. Poor Alleman, he had never 
been able to foregive me that my tent had 
been pitched where the shadow of the palace 
fell upon it. 

“ Here ye ! here ye ! ” floated to me again, 
faintly and from the direction of the village, 
and I arose from my rug and went to the door. 
The natives had begun to pour out of their 
dwellings, and gathered in groups about Alle- 
man as if to inquire the occasion for their 
being disturbed at that early hour, for the in- 
habitants toiled but little, and the sun was high 
when they welcomed him, unless the queen’s 
command disturbed them. While I stood 


102 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


pondering on the cause of this early summons* 
there suddenly appeared before me, as if he 
had risen out of the ground, my friend Mul- 
lane, pale and agitated. 

“Muliane,” I inquired, “ what has happened 
to thee ? Thou art white as any corpse thou 
didst ever carry down the gloomy way to the 
river. Tell me what hast befallen thee.” 

“ O, mighty man, hast thou informed the 
queen that my love lies sleeping by the river?” 

“ Nay, Muliane,” I answered him, “ I have 
said nothing ; why dost thou inquire ? ” 

“ Because the queen commands the presence 
of her children, and this is no fete day,” he 
replied. 

“ But thou hast Diana’s promise/’ that thou 
shalt live in paradise with the bright spirit thou 
dost love. Fearest thou the queen will break 
her covenant with thee ? ” 

“ Nay, wise stranger, I shall dwell in the 
bright land beyond the stars, but I fear me the 
maiden’s spirit may have formed other ties in 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. IO3 

that glorious paradise. Thinkest thou, O, An- 
gelo, she has forgotten the poor wretch who 
has dared to disobey the queen because of his 
love for her? ” 

“ No, Mullane, she has not forgotten ; there 
is no fickleness in paradise. And the bright 
spirit of her who lies sleeping so peacefully by 
the river awaits anxiously thy coming.” 

When I said this the enslaved features of 
Mullane brightened, and he fell down and 
kissed my sandals before 1 could prevent him. 

“ O, stranger,” he cried, “ Diana is my queen, 
but thou art my comforter.” 

“What sayest thou, Mullane?” came in 
sweet accents from behind us, and turning 
quickly about I saw standing before me the 
beautiful Princess Vesta. 

“Mullane,” she said, “Diana is a jealous 
queen, and if thou wilt worship the stranger 
god it were well for thee that thy sovereign’s 
eye fall not on thy devotions.” 

I thought to see Mullane stand abashed be- 


104 the ISLE 0F feminine. 

fore the princess or fall upon his face and plead 
for mercy, and was no little surprised, when, 
after kissing her sandal, he arose and said : 

“O, my princess, thou knowest I worship 
none save the queen and her household, but 
Angelo hath done me a great kindness, and I am 
sure neither the immortal queen, nor thou, my 
princess, would have me slow in gratitude." 

“ I know thou art a loyal subject, and I am 
glad to see thee revere our guest; thou mayest 

go” 

Mullane fell upon his face before her, and 
then departed, less pale and agitated than when 
he appeared before me an hour previous. 

The countenance of Vesta shone with a radi- 
ant beauty. 

“Angelo," she said, “ I am come from Diana 
with commands which give me great joy, for 
they bring to thee an honor never bestowed on 
mortal man. Little did I think when I found 
thee upon our shores, thou shouldst win such 
favor with the queen." 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 105 

I answered her wonderingly: 

“ My fair Vesta, the queen has already 
shown me greater favor than I deserve, and I 
can conceive no fairer honor than to be per- 
mitted to pass the portals of the palace.” 

“ That was a privilege which seemed to 
honor thee only because it was unusual for the 
queen to so indulge thy sex,” replied Vesta. 
“ See, Angelo ! I have brought thee a new 
robe, a present from Diana, who commands 
thee to wear it this day when thy station shall 
be advanced in the presence of her subjects. I 
leave thee now, but will come again when the 
sun hath traveled a fourth of his journey.*’ 

I went into my tent to examine this new ac- 
quisition to my wardrobe. I found it to be a 
robe even richer in texture than the one Vesta 
had given me on the day she presented me to 
the immortal queen, and enriched by a neck- 
lace and girdle, studded with precious gems. 
Looking closely at the girdle, I found on the 
buckle, finely engraved, “ From Vesta.” With 


10 6 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

deep reverence I lifted the jeweled belt to mjr 

v-> , 

lips and kissedagain the name of this princess 
who had won my heart and who yet held me 
aloof by her greatness, the knowledge of which 
drove me almost to despair. But man will 
ever hope, and sitting there within the shadow 
of my tent, I indulged myself in those wild 
fancies which are ever present in the mind of 
youth, and dreamed of a possible day when the 
vast gulf which separated an immortal princess 
and a poor castaway, might be drunk up by the 
fires of a passionate love, or be swollen beyond 
its bounds by tears of pity until its waters 
would catch us both and bear us together on 
its current. 

Not the imperial look of Diana, not the dark 
eyes of Melpomene that carried the dreams of 
poesy in every gleam, nor the laughing counte- 
nance of Thalia filled me with such feelings of 
love and reverence as did the sweet smile of 
Vesta, from whose eyes shone only the soul of 
a mortal richly filled with sympathy for its fel- 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 10/ 

low. I could scarce bring myself to think of 
her as an inmate of the palace of perpetual 
life, so sweet, so homelike was she, and as I 
gazed on this engraved token of love, so like 
unto the fancies of my country’s maidens, I 
dared dream of a day when Vesta should be 
my own. The presumption was the more ex- 
cusable in me on account of my rapid advance- 
ment in the queen’s favor, and even now, look- 
ing back upon these scenes through the wisdom 
of my many years, I cannot condemn my youth 
from pirating from a tempting future. 

Lying there, with the sun’s rays stealing in 
at the door and changing the border of my rug 
into gold, I reviewed my two months, life in 
this strange land, and found nothing to regret. 
It had been just one month since I had walked 
awed and frightened into the palace, and now 
not only did I not fear that I was being pre- 
served to be the victim of some future or- 
gies, but I was actually schooling myself into 
the belief that I might one day become a per- 


108 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

manent resident in this great palace and form 

an alliance with its immortality. 

The mind of youth ever yearns for things be- 
yond its reach, and while I sat waiting the day’s 
events, I rehearsed the day dreams I had had 
when but a lad of twelve, and was surprised to 
recall that my favorite dream then was strangely 
like what had actually happened to me on this 
Isle of Feminine. There was the same palace, 
except that the palace of my dream was built 
of gray stone with a tower whose summit 
reached far toward the skies ; and there was 
the beautiful female, but how unlike Diana, for 
my childhood’s queen thought not much of the 
mysterious things which lie beyond this mun- 
dane sphere, nor sought to become immortal 
through the agency of that mysterious tree 
which history or tradition places beyond the 
reach of man. But my charming queen lived 
sweetly on, young and beautiful in her simple 
life. My dream had become a reality, had 
she grown old, or kept her youth by effort. 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. IO9 

The air castles of childhood never tumble, 
but rise higher and higher until they reach the 
child’s paradise, then they relax their grasp 
and lay the foundation for another castle. 

In reaching this island of my youthful imagi- 
nation I passed not through all the dangers and 
privations I have lately experienced, for a 
child’s fiction entangles him not in dark 
and intricate meshes, and then, just as his soul 
cries out in despar lifts him up and bears him 
on to the happiness he has been striving to at- 
tain. I only went to sleep in my own cozy 
bed, and when the sun peeped into my window 
next morning, found that the great ocean had 
been crossed while I slept, and that I stood 
quite happy in the presence of my little queen. 
While I weeded the bed of spring vegetables 
for my mother, I was winning the affections of 
my laughing little queen, and an errand to the 
corner grocery was but a long stroll by her 
side through the shady groves which surrounded 
her castle. And at length, when we had been 


1 10 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


long together, I began to think seriously of 
making her my wife, and one hot Sunday 
morning as I sat in the carriage by my 
mother’s side, on our way to the old brick 
church, I found that this beautiful maiden loved 
me, so we solemnly declared ourselves to be 
man and wife, for there were no ministers on 
my island, and forever then we were very hap- 
py, until at least my father and mother came in 
a bog, ship and we returned with them to my 
own home. 

So I had laid the last stone on the turret of 
my castle and if the stones happened to be 
all bubbles and burst, they had floated far out 
of sight before the catastrophe, and no knowl- 
edge of the ruin ever reached me. 

In the midst of all these thoughts of the past 
and dreams of the future, I caught sight of the 
jeweled robe lying before me, and I hastened 
to put it on, remembering the command of 
Vesta. I had hardly completed the task when 
the princess appeared at the doorway. 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


Ill 


" Come, Angelo, the queen awaits thee,” she 
said. 

‘‘Tell me, sweet princess,” I entreated, 
what new honor the queen will bestow upon 
me, that I may study how to answer her with 
becoming grace.” 

“ Nay, thou shalt wait and see, and if the 
gratitude of thy heart fills not thy mouth with 
befitting speech, thy silence will be forgiven. 
Come ! ” 

By the side of Vesta I walked out of my 
tent, the thousand jewels of my robe glit- 
tering in the sunlight as we passed along ; and 
I saw before the palace the chair of state with 
its awning of gold cloth. The queen was 
there and her household. In a semi-circle on 
her right stood the maidens of the village, 
while on the left, with their enslaved faces 
bowed to the earth, were the males from the 
favored Alleman, his face white with rage and 
envy, to the lowly Mullane, whose joyful smile 
told me that I had at least one friend in all 


1 1 2 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


that multitude. I mentally resolved to do him 

' •%*. . 

some great kindness. 

I stood before the queen, the Princess Vesta 
by my side, with her countenance bathed in 
radiant smiles. 

“ O, my mother, she began,” I have brought 
to thee our stranger guest, Angelo, the mes- 
senger from that land which lies beyond the 
shores of thy kingdom, where thy brother 
rules over the souls of men. It was I who 
found and cared for him while he rested from 
his long journey, and to me belongs his life, 
for I have saved it. 

“ We recognize thy right to the stranger,” 
answered Diana. “ Speak thy desire.” 

“ I would, O, queen,” said Vesta; “ I would 
consecrate his life to thy service.” 

“ And what sayeth our guest ? ” questioned 
the queen. “ Will he renounce allegiance to 
his own land to become the son and subject 
of Diana.” 

My temples throbbed, and I could almost hear 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 1 1 3 

the beating of my heart, as the wild thoughts 
rushed through my brain : Give up that coun- 
try whose laws were dear to me? declare my- 
self an alien to the home of my father and my 
mother? I could not, and yet, what other 
course was left me? I saw no possibility of 
ever again beholding all those dear ones, and 
since I must remain on the island, why not 
conform to its laws ? And then too, the queen 
had said naught of my religion, and I would in 
the end reach that same heaven where my 
mother would wait for me. So I answered : 

“ My queen, that country which lies far dis- 
tant is very dear to me, even as is thy love to 
thy subjects, but I may never again see its 
shores, and I renounce allegiance to its laws, 
and bow to Vesta’s desire and thy will.” 

“ Angelo, thou sayest well. Hear ye, my 
children and my household, the will of Diana 
concerning the stranger. Angelo, I declare 
thee first prince of the house of Diana, brother 
to the Princess Vesta, and keeper of the great 

F — 8 


I 14 THE ISLE OF FEMININE, 

seal. Henceforth thou shalt be sacred in the 
eyes of my subjects and death lieth in the path 
of him who would do thee any harm. Thou 
shalt have a chamber in the palace, and in 
matters concerning the government of mine 
earthly kingdom, thou shalt be the spokesman. 
I have said.” 

Then Vesta received from the queen’s hand 
a band of pure gold, which she placed upon my 
head, and all the people cried, “ Great and wise 
is the immortal queen and again I heard 
them shout, “ Honored and sacred is the Prince 
Angelo, keeper of the great seal,” but it came 
to me as the whisper of a dream, so strangely 
did it sound. It all came about so suddenly I 
had not yet been able to realize my transpor- 
tation from the humble dreams of Andrew 
Lowe to "a nation’s applause of a newly-made 
Prince Angelo ; yet with the true instinct of 
man, before I could understand or appreciate 
my newly-acquired honors, I longed to learn 
whether the queen’s favors carried along with 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 1 1 5 

them the perpetual life enjoyed by my sisters 
in royalty. Although I dared not so hope, I 
determined to learn the truth from Vesta at 
the first opportunity. My % soul suddenly 
burned with a desire to fight my way past the 
angel with the flaming sword and seek the 
tree of life in the midst of the garden. 

When the inhabitants had all departed and 
I stood alone before the queen and her house- 
hold, I felt for the first time how unworthy I 
was to belong to that noble house whose queen 
looked down on me from the loftiness of her 
thirty-five centuries, and how insignificant I 
must appear to her. And I would have burst 
into a flood of tears had it not been that I 
feared the merry derision of sixteen laughing 
eyes. My countenance must have betrayed 
somewhat of my heart’s intent, for the queen 
questioned me concerning the cause of my sad- 
ness. 

“ O, queen,” I answered her, “ I am misera- 
ble, because I stand on the verge of a yawn- 


Il6 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

ing gulf which separates mine ignorance from 
the wisdom of thine house.” 

" Grieve not for that, Prince Angelo, for that 
same gulf thou seest stretch darkly before thee, 
once spread itself before the eyes of thy queen, 
and even now I stand above its threatening 
depths just far enough across to see dimly the 
bright land which lies beyond. And my maid- 
ens come after me, each far behind the other. 
My Princess Vesta has but started on the 
journey, and it may be she will tarry for thee, 
if thou wilt but travel fast and not grow faint. 
The gloomy abyss thou seest, my prince, is 
ignorance, and each plank thou layest on the 
bridge which thou wilt build for thy crossing, 
shall be called experience. Only make sure 
each timber is solid, and all will be well. But 
we will speak more of this hereafter. Now we 
will leave thee to walk and converse with thy 
new sister.” Saying this, the queen and all 
the others departed, leaving Vesta and myself 
entirely alone. 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. II/ 

i( Where wouldst thou walk, Prince An- 
gelo ? ” after a long pause, during which I was 
much embarrassed. 

“Nay, I am thy brother now, and I would 
have thee call me Angelo,” I answered. 

“ May I not call thee brother? ” 

“If thou wilt be so kind,” I replied. 

“ Then, my brother, whither shall we go ? ” 

“ Let us to the great palm which first shel- 
tered me on this lovely island, and where I 
awoke to behold thine eyes and the dawning 
of the day at one glance, where the little 
stream runs babbling by and loses itself in the 
great sea. And as we walk, my Vesta, pray 
tell me the queen’s intentions concerning me.” 

“ I know not, my brother, what further ad- 
vancement the queen intends for thee. Thou 
art already prince of the house of perpetual 
life ; doth my Angelo so soon sigh for new 
honors ? ” 

“O, Vesta,” I answered, stung by her ques- 


I 1 8 THE ISLE OF FEMININE, 

tion, because it touched so nearly the thought 
of my heart. “ O, Vesta, thou knowest j 
meant not that, but I understood not all the 
queen’s sayings. Thinkest thou she means to 
give me perpetual life ?•” 

“ I know not/’ replied Vesta. “ Would it 
please thee to forget all thy passions and per- 
petually live in coldness and indifference ?” 

I looked into Vesta’s eyes, while I answered 
her : 

“ My sweet sister, since it is impossible that 
I should ever possess the only thing I ever 
loved, I am willing, nay eager to forego all the 
infirmities of man and become a student of 
Diana.” 

Vesta sighed : 

“ I pity thee, Angelo, that the vast waters 
separate thee from thy love.” 

We had reached the palm and stood be- 
neath its rich foliage. 

“ O, sister,” I cried, " an obstacle greater 
than the_ ocean separates me from my heart’s- 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. I 19 

desire. We are divided by a caste which it is 
impossible to overcome. Here on this island 
dwells my love.” 

Vesta looked at me pityingly, and I thought 
there was disappointment in her voice when 
she answered : 

“ I did not know thou wert made captive by 
one of the maidens of this island. Why didst 
thou not tell me, for not indeed I fear the lofti- 
ness of thy position makes thy dream im- 
possible.” 

‘‘Vesta, Vesta!” I plead, throwing myself at 
her feet, “ thou wilt drive me mad. Have pity 
and do not loathe me, for it is thou who hast 
stolen my heart.” 

I can see even yet that look of surprise and 
fear, as Vesta retreated from me. 

“Angelo, Angelo !” she almost shrieked, “re- 
call those dreadful words. Knowest thou not 
the great secret of perpetual life is the total 
absence of passionate love between the sexes ? 


120 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


Forget what thou hast said, dear brother. Let 
us return to the palace, and O, my prince, be 
careful that the queen form no acquaintance 
with thy feelings.” 


CHAPTER VII. 


O, the swelling pride, the sweet hope, the 
miserable despair that filled my life for the first 
days after I had been created prince of the 
realm. “ If only my parents and my friends 
were here to share with me my new honors," I 
thought. I would have been willing to sacri- 
fice all the glories of my advancement to hear 
my precious mother say proudly : 

“ To be sure, Andrew, thou wert never a 
handsome lad, but the honesty that shines from 
thine eyes has acquainted the queen of thy 
great worth.” 

Dear old mother ; I never saw her again, but 
the distance between us is growing less each 
day, and she stands waiting for me at the end 
of my journey. I pray the good God I may 
be able to say : 

“ Dear, my mother, that uprightness which 
thou didst instil into my youth and of which 


122 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


thou wert so proud — even those early lessons 
have brought me here.” 

I am proud to recall that the first hours after 
the magnificent palace had been made my 
home were spent in thinking of my mother* 
When the angry waves were tossing me about 
I had suffered no agony she would not gladly 
have shared or taken entirely to herself, and I 
am joyed to remember that in the loftiest 
moments of my life I wished that my mother 
had been present to share with me. 

It were difficult to relate how my hopes 
soared out beyond my reach as I reclined in 
my apartment, dreaming of the difficulties I 
should meet and conquer, of the planks I 
should place in the bridge which I must build 
and cross, and now that my toil should never 
cease until I had overtaken, not only Vesta, but 
the queen. 

As on the morning I stepped proudly from 
beneath the college roof with my diploma un- 
der my arm, so now I felt ready for any foe 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. I23. 

that might present, yet was I not equipped for 
any of the realities of life, because none of those 
planks, which the queen was pleased to call 
experience, had been hewn. But was I not al- 
ready first man of the kingdom, and had not 
the queen entrusted me with the great seal, and 
instructed her subjects to do me reverence ? 
Altogether, there was no reason why I should 
not be happy and hope — save one. 

The heart of man longs for the unattainable. 

From the day I first saw and loved Vesta, I 
knew how foolish it was for me to cultivate a 
passion for an immortal princess, yet I ever 
hoped the queen might advance my condition, 
and on the day, even the hour of my great tri- 
umph, I found my heart crying out against the 
desire which filled my life with the ineffable 
sweetness of anticipation; I struck out on the 
broad waves to find something more tangible 
than hope, and my bark was caught in the vor- 
tex of despair. Oh, how my soul prayed to 
the queen to recall the illustrious title of prince 


124 THE ISLE 0F FEMININE. 

and give me Vesta’s love in compensation, to 

vk . 

take back the great seal and in turn rescue my 
drowning hope, to exchange the sweet name of 
sister for that title dearest to the heart of man. 
What could it profit me to be prince of the 
whole world and have not Vesta, and she had 
told me with her own lips how impossible were 
my longings. 

The jeweled furnishings of my room looked 
dull and heavy and the sweet strains of music, 
floating from the queen’s apartment fell upon 
my soul like the croaking of some ominous 
bird. Every man is indeed happy who escapes 
that one time in his existence when the heart, 
groaning under the agonies of disappointed 
love, flies from the notes of enchanting song. 

To add to the intensity of my despair, I 
was seized with a great fear that Vesta might 
consider me unsafe to longer remain a mem- 
ber of the royal family and betray to Diana 
the rebellion of my heart against her most sa- 
cred law touching the safety of her household ; 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 12$ 

for had I not laid bare before the queen’s fa- 
vorite child that passion which had wrecked 
the human heart since its first pulsation, and. 
that with the most thorough knowledge of the 
harm it had worked in the world, and the thick 
wall Diana had built about her children to 
shield them from its blighting influence ? I 
even wrought upon my mind to the point of 
believing myself the duplicate of, or even the 
original serpent, that with his wiles played upon 
the credulity of the unsuspecting Eve and se- 
duced the innocence of her being to the eter- 
nal sorrow of her sex. 

In the midst of these perplexities and fears, 
this consciousness of wrong which made n.e 
loathe myself, I recalled my mental promise to 
befriend Mullane, and quitted the palace to 
seek him out. 

In choosing a gift for Mullane, I sought to 
favor him with the thing I myself would most 
likely desire were I he — more light in the dim 
cavern of death to shine upon the face of my 


126 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


beautiful sleeping love. I found the poor 
slave lying under a tree near the village. 
•When he saw me, he came running forward 
and fell upon his face. 

" O, mighty prince,” he cried, “ now I can 
worship thee without fear, and I can pray more 
freely to thee that thou knowest the secrets of 
my heart.” 

“ Rise, Mullane,” I answered, and I recall 
with what a kingly, condescending air I said 
it, so soon does man accustom himself to the 
pleasing robes of authority. “ Rise, Mullane, 
and accompany me toward the sea, for I have 
something to say to thee concerning that 
secret of thy heart of which thou didst speak. 
Tell me, if I did promise to fulfill one desire of 
thy soul, what wouldst thou ask ? ” 

“ O, prince, I have but one desire in my life, 
but I fear to name it to thee, lest thou shouldst 
think me unreasonable.” 

“ Speak on,” I commanded. 

“ Thou knowest the light in the cavern 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 127 

where sleeps my love is dim, and I scarce can 
see her face.” 

“ And thou wbuldst have me command the 
sun to penetrate a thousand feet of rock, and 
shed its rays upon thy sleeping beauty ? ” 

“ Thy slave does not hope so great a bless- 
ing” 

“ Or,” I continued, “ perhaps the soft beams 
of the full moon would serve thy purpose ? ” 

“That would bring the greatest joy of my 
life,” answered the unsuspecting slave. “ But 
>» 

“ But thou dost doubt my power,” I said, in- 
terrupting him. 

“ Nay, Prince Angelo, I know thou hast 
the power.” 

“Yea, Mullane, I have power to command 
the sun,” I answered boldly, and had he dared 
to look upon the face of his superior, he 
might have seen the deep flush which over- 
spread my countenance at the lie I uttered. 
*‘But were I to command the sun to send such 


128 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 


force as would serve thy purpose, the great 
heat would scorch up the green leaves, aftd the 
fragrant flowers would droop and die.” 

“ I see the folly of my desire, and I pray 
thou wilt not remember it against thy servant,” 
pleaded Mullane. 

“ Thou shalt see the beautiful maiden,” I re- 
plied. “ Run to thine house and bring with thee 
some vessel.” 

There had not been fire on the island for 
three thousand years, so the queen informed 
me, and she alone held the secret of creating 
it. I had determined to surprise Mullane with 
a little blaze and place in his possession the 
means of lighting the cavern. He soon caught 
up with me, bearing a vessel, and we journeyed 
on toward the beach farthest from the palace. 
When we had gone some distance we came to 
a wood with foliage so dense the sun never 
penetrated it, and I saw all about us slender 
frames placed about two feet from the giound. 
Some of these frames held a material which 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. I2g 

seemed as rich and white as the robe I wore, 
and others bat a thin web, while over all 
crawled great bugs resembling a spider, ex- 
cept that they were much larger. Greatly as- 
tonished, I asked Mullane what they were. 

“ Surely thou knowest, Prince Angelo,” he 
answered me. 

“ Yet answer me as though I knew noth- 
ing.” 

“ Those are the weavers making cloth for 
the immortal queen and her royal house. They 
weave continually and we have but to take the 
cloth when it is finished and fashion it into 
robes. Farther on the cloth is made for the 
queen’s subjects. Diana taught them to weave 
in the beginning, but now each teaches her off- 
spring.” 

“ I see thou art well informed. Let us con- 
tinue our journey,” I said, with seeming indif- 
ference, but many times I turned my head to 
look at these lowly toilers, and I marveled 
that the Creator, in His infinite wisdom, had 

F — 9 


130 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

not placed them in all parts of the earth to 
take the place of those human slaves who spin 
and sew under the oppressive hand of insolence 
and wealth, and who exchange each day a drop 
of their heart's blood for a morsel of bread. 

“Mullane,” I said, as we neared the beach, 
“ I am going to do for thee that which might 
not find favor with the queen did she notice it, 
hence thou must not disclose to any one what 
I will show thee. Surely the immortal Diana 
will know everything we do, but as long as she 
is not reminded of it, she will choose to over- 
look.” 

“ I vow by great Diana’s power,” he began, 
when I interrupted him. 

“ Vow not at all. I will believe thy simple 
word as readily as an oath. Hast thou ever 
seen fire ?” 

“ I understand not thy strange words, Prince 
Angelo,” he answered, a puzzled look on his 
homely face. 

“ It is an element creating light and heat,” 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 1 3 I 

I ventured. At my explanation his counte- 
nance brightened. 

" I have seen the sun,” he said. His answer 
pleased me. 

“ Thou art quick to comprehend, and I in- 
tend to make for thee a little sun which thou 
mayest carry into the cavern to light up the 
face of her who lies sleeping. 

Mullane was overwhelmed with joy. “ O, 
prince,” he cried, “ Thou art wise and omni- 
potent, even as Diana, and thou art considerate 
of thy slaves. How can I make myself worthy 
of so great a kindness? Thou wilt sink into 
the hearts of thy subjects deep as Vesta’s love.’* 

“ She is my sister,” I said, with proud boy- 
ish confidence, entirely forgetful that I was a 
great prince speaking to his slave. When we 
reached the shore Mullane gathered some dry 
twigs and leaves, and with two sticks of hard 
wood, I caused the first smoke he had ever 
seen curl toward heaven. This astonished him 
greatly, but when the little tongues of flame 


132 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

began to leap up, the amazement written on his 

features was something ludicrous to see. 

“ What is the matter?” I asked, laughing, 
that a man should be astonished out of his 
senses at sight of a slight fire such as the small- 
est boy in our country delights in creating if 
he can pilfer matches and escape the vigilant 
eye of his mother. But each country to its 
own habits and oddities, and I had but to re- 
member the dense wood and the weavers to 
cease my mirth. 

“ Now, Mullane, if thou wilt catch a quanti- 
ty of small fish that crowd upon the beach as 
if they were trying to escape some enemy, we 
will begin our labor.” The herring rushed upon 
the beach in such numbers that it was not dif- 
ficult to secure what I required, and when the 
sun was low we covered the burning twigs 
with sand, and started homeward with a quan- 
tity of oil in a small jar he had brought with him. 

" Take the oil to thine house, Mullane, and 
tomorrow we will make the lamp,” I said. 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 1 33 

As we walked leisurely along towards the 
palace, the sun sank out of sight and the half- 
full moon turned the leaves to silver as they 
rustled above us. Certainly the Isle of Femi- 
nine was a fit kingdom for an immortal queen- 
Lost in the beauties of my surroundings I sat 
down by the wayside to dream, forgetful of my 
companion who moved away a respectful dis- 
tance and threw himself upon the ground. And 
my dream was the dream of youth, a dream of 
love, and doubts, and hope — of the beautiful 
Vesta I might not win, yet worshiped with 
such unselfish devotion I would have died for 
her willingly. If only she were here now, I 
thought, she would find love so akin to perfect 
night she could not resist. But Vesta was not 
there. No doubt she is praying for me in the 
palace if she ever prays, whispered the egotism 
of my youth. 

There was a bright flash before my eyes that 
startled me, and I threw up my arm as if to 
ward off a blow from an unseen hand, but it 


134 the isle of feminine. 

found nothing to resist. I heard a scream of 
terror pierce the night air, a sound that fell 
coldly upon my soul as it died away. Every- 
thing was confusion. I arose bewildered. Mul- 
lane was embracing my knees and crying joy- 
fully that I was saved. What did it all mean ? 
I looked about me — Ah, God, have pity ! there 
stood Vesta, a keen knife in her hand and a 
mad fury contorting her face that was terrible 
to behold. jAnd I had been dreaming of love 
— of Vesta. Before I could find words to give 
utterance to the horror I felt, I discovered an 
object crouching at her side, and the pale 
moonbeams showed me the pitiful, pleading, 
ashen face of Alleman ; the child had saved 
me from the hatred of the father. I could only 
cry, “ O, Vesta ! ” and sinking upon the ground 
I covered my face with my hands and wept. 

“Thou art not hurt, Prince Angelo?” came 
tremblingly from her lips. 

“ O, my princess,” I cried, “ twice hast thou 
saved^my life ; henceforth, I shall be thy slave.” 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 1 35 

*' Peace, prince. Now is my soul too sad to 
hear of sentiment.” Turning to Alleman, she 
said sadly : 

“ O, thou whom I have called father, darkly 
lies thy doom before thee. Didst thou not 
hear Diana’s words concerning the prince?’’ 

“ Child! child ! moaned Alleman, “thou 
wilt not sacrifice me for the stranger ? Have 
mercy, O daughter of my lost wife ! ” 

“ I cannot save thee from the queen’s ven- 
geance ; thou hast sinned against Diana and the 
heavens. Let us to the palace, and O, as thou 
art my sire, torture not my soul with vain 
pleadings.” 

“ Surely, Vesta,” I faltered, “thou wilt not 
accuse good Alleman before the queen ? ” 

“ Thou too, prince ? Hast thou forgotten thou 
art a member of the royal house ? Come ! ” 

I could say no more, but with Mullane fol- 
lowed sadly after this child leading her parent 
to his death, sacrificing love to a duty that 
could never waver. 


I36 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

As we neared the palace, we heard the 
music of the dance. 

“The maidens amuse the queen,” said Vesta 
sadly. 

“ Slowly we wended our way before the 
queen, who saw in the deep gloom which over- 
cast our little party, that something terrible 
and unusual had occurred. The dancers stood 
motionless, and the music died away in weird 
sigh; many were the faces which grew ashen 
under that oppressive quiet. 

The queen looked at us all as if she would 
read our hearts, then, turning to Vesta, com- 
manded her to relate the cause of our sorrow- 
ful demeanor. 

“Thou, O queen, who can read the hearts 
of men, spare me the agony of speech,” plead- 
ed Vesta. 

“Dread, queen,” cried Alleman, springing 
forward and groveling at her feet ; “ Spare me I 
spare me ! I am the father of thy Princess 


•THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 1 3 7 

Vesta. I have given all my life in servitutde 
to thine immortal greatness. Have pity ! ” 

“ What grievous thing hast thou done to cry 
for mercy ? ” asked Diana, but in answer Alle- 
man only rent the air with his shrieks to be 
spared. 

“ My subjects, gather about the queen's 
household/’ commanded Diana, and they form- 
ed a semi-circle about us. " Some terrible 
thing has happened to disturb our pleasure.’’ 
My princesses, give ear to what is spoken, for 
thou shalt sit with me in judgment. " Prince 
Angelo,” she continued, turning to me, "Tell 
me what has happened ? ” 

I was suffocating and the words choked me 
as they came from my throat : “ I saw nothing 
but a bright gleam before mine eyes as I sat 
by the wayside.” 

"And thou, Mullane?” 

" I heard only confusion and a maiden’s cry, 
and I saw the Princess Vesta towering above 
the writhing form of the favored Alleman.” 


I38 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

“ Aught else ? ” inquired the queen. 

“ Nothing, as I hope to reach the bright land 
beyond the stars.” 

Touching pity shown from the eyes of Diana 
as she looked on Vesta. 

“ Thou art an immortal princess/’ she said. 

“ I have not forgotten.” 

“ Speak,” commanded the queen. 

“ O, my sire, thou hast seared the brightness 
of my life and the child’s heart breaks that the 
princess must accuse thee before the queen.” 
I turned my face that I might not see her 
agony. After a pause, during which her heart 
must have been rent to obtain a mastery over 
love, she continued : 

“ My queen, thy servant Alleman attempted 
the life of Prince Angelo, but happily I ap- 
proached in time to stay his hand.” 

A cry of horror went up from the inhabitants 
as they heard and the princesses looked silent- 
y into each others’ faces. 

“ My royal children, thou hast heard,” said 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 1 39 

Diana. “ Melpomene, what sentence shall be 
meted out to Alleman ? ” 

“ He shall die,” came in solemn answer. 

“ He shall die,” repeated each princess in 
turn along the line until it came Vesta’s time 
to speak. I could not think the queen would 
expect the child to pass sentence on her father. 

Vesta remained motionless and uttered no 
sound. 

“ I have seven daughtes in my royal fami- 
ly, said the queen, and the tortured soul of 
Vesta answered : 

“ He shall die.” 

Then the queen spoke to Alleman : 

“ Hear thy doom, O, slave to passion. This 
night thy soul shall take its flight to the land 
of eternal darkness, and thy body shall find no 
rest upont the current of the dark rolling stream, 
but shall feed the fishes of the sea. I have 
said.” 

I looked upon Alleman. He lay upon the 
ground, his face still and white. He was dead. 


140 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

Even as the queen spoke, his spirit took its 
flight. Silently they carried his body to the 
sea and cast it to the waves, and the inhabi- 
tants fell upon their faces and cried : 


“ Great is the will of Diana. M 


CHAPTER VIII. 


For days alter the death of Alleman a deep 
gloom hung over the inhabitants, and the 
cheerfulness of the royal household was much 
diminished. Five days did Vesta remain in 
the palace to mourn the death of her father, 
and when she appeared again among us the 
bright smile had fled from her eyes, and in 
place a sadness sweet and gentle had stolen. 

Pure, loving Vesta ; the world shall never 
see her like again. The guilelessness of her 
life needed not the prestige of eternal royalty 
to make her blest. 

Oft we walked together towards the sea 
when the sun was low, or strolled side by side 
down the shaded avenues at noontide, my poor 
starved soul drinking eagerly her words of 
wisdom and rich intonation, or we sat together 
in some shady place where the violets scented 
the air with their fragrance. And the mad 


142 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

passion of my youth departed, and there came 
instead that grander passion — a love so divine 
it could not offend nor terrify my sister prin- 
cess. Unperceived, the affinity of our souls 
grew stronger each day until a love, harmless 
and holy, bound together our hearts. 

In these days, too, I found myself much in 
company with the queen, who ever sought 
more knowledge of him she called brother — 
that son of the infinite God ; and when I told 
her how he had come to rule the world with 
love, and left violence to the ungodly, Diana 
would sigh. Once she surprised me by asking 
if I thought her subjects could be ruled by 
love. 

“ I would be like that glorious prince thou 
tellest me of, O Angelo,” she said. 

And again as we sat one day in the palace, 
she suddenly interrupted me. 

“Prince Angelo,” she began, “ I was too 
severe with poor Alleman, and have brought a 
great grief upon Vesta, which I would mitigate. 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. I43 

Thinkest thou I might commute his sentence 
and return him again to the island after three 
decades ?” 

“ O, my queen,” I cried, “ that would bring 
back the gladness to Vesta’s countenance.” 

“ But might it not also bring contempt for 
my commands ? The queen cannot lie, and 
the doom of Alleman has passed my lips.” 

“ Thy brother, O queen, quickened the pulse 
that had been stilled by the Creator’s touch,” I 
answered. 

“And I, through love, will recall the doom 
which rests heavy on the soul of Alleman ; 
when the seasons have changed three hundred 
times he shall return.” 

In my joy I caught the queen’s hand and 
kissed it, but I grew cold and trembled when I 
thought of my boldness, and my eyes plead for 
forgiveness, for my emotion was so violent I 
could not speak. 

But the queen seemed lost in thought and 
her hand lay passively in mine. 


144 the isle of feminine. 

When Diana dismissed me that day the sun 
was sinking. 

I sought Vesta and found her walking before 
the palace. 

“Joy, my sister,” I cried, “for I bring tidings 
which shall gladden thy heart.” 

“ Nay, prince,” she answered sadly, “ that 
can scarcely be, for my happiness is blighted 
by a bitter grief which I must feel forever.” 

“Thou dost err, for I can take away that 
grief. Know, my sister, that the queen has re- 
voked the awful doom which hung over the 
soul of thy father, and he shall live with us 
again after the flowers have blossomed three 
hundred summers.” 

“Thou art mad with grief, my brother, be- 
cause thou thinkest thyself the cause of my 
suffering. Let us try to forget my poor father, 
and permit not his death to hang heavy upon 
thy mind, for the sin which cast him out was 
his own.” 

“ I swear to you by the foundation of the 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. I45 

palace, I speak truly the queen’s words,” I an- 
swered. 

The sunshine of happiness shone again from 
the eyes of my sister, as she heard : 

“ Now thou art indeed my brother,” she 
said, “ for I know it was thy pleading which 
caused the queen to mitigate my suffering.” 
Saying this, Vesta kissed my forehead, and 
then ran to pour out the gratitude of her heart 
unto the queen, leaving me alone with the 
sweet ecstacies of returning hope. 

After the queen’s kindness to the soul of 
Alleman, the dark cloud which had hung over 
the island passed away, and we all returned to 
our old happy life. 

One day, when I walked down the avenue 
toward the village, I met Mullane, very much 
downcast, and I remembered the lamp had 
been forgotten. 

“ Cheer up, Mullane,” I said to him, “ for I 
have come even now to complete thy joy; the 

lamp shall be put in order at once.” 

F-10 


146 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

Mullane answered me sadly: 

“ Mighty prince, it is not that which weighs 
heavy upon the heart of thy servant, although 
I fain would possess the sun thou hast offered 
me in thy great kindness ; but I see the swim- 
ming chariot of the Prince Angelo hidden 
away among the bushes which droop over the 
small stream where it empties itself into the 
sea, and my soul is sad that he shall sail over 
the wide ocean to dwell among the bright 
gods of his own land and forget those who 
love him in the kingdom of Diana.” 

“ Wouldst thou grieve to see me go, Mul- 
lane ? ” 

“ The spirit of thy slave shall snap as a dry 
twig on the day of thy departure. O prince, 
as thou lovest thy sister Vesta, go not from us.” 

“ How dost thou know I love the princess ? ” 
I asked. 

“ I will tell thee how I know. When the 
princess walks abroad the beezes are more 
gentle, and the branches above her head are 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 14/ 

silent that they may catch the sound of her 
breathing. All nature loves Vesta. I cannot 
tell how it is, but I know the strong ever love 
the gentle, and I have marked how the counte- 
nance of the great Angelo shines more glorious 
when the fair Vesta approaches. Be not angry 
with thy servant for the boldness of his speech, 
nor measure the depth of his love by the poor 
utterance of his tongue.” 

“ Thou shalt never come to disfavor by fair 
words of my sister, and fear not Mullane that 
I shall leave thee ; where the queen and Vesta 
dwell, thou mayst ever find thy prince. Come ! 
let us examine this sailing chariot, as thou 
callest it.’* 

Mullane led me to the stream, and there be- 
neath the bushes which hung over the water 
lay my boat. I covered my face with my 
hands that my companion might not notice the 
tears which ran down my cheeks as the sight 
of that little craft recalled the sad events of 
my journey and filled my soul with an inex- 


I48 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

pressible grief. Away from dear ones had that 
little craft carried me, and in its bottom had I 
lain helpless while my poor friend let out his 
life’s blood. 

“ Mullane,” I said, when my heart grew 
calm, “ that is the craft which bore me to this 
island from the bright land beyond the sea. 
Let us take it from its hiding place and find a 
mooring where the bushes do not grow.” 

I got into the boat, and by the aid of a pole 
pushed it from beneath the undergrowth. 
When I had found a better landing, with the 
assistance of Mullane, I drew it upon the sand 
and turned out the water. I was delighted to 
find my bark in excellent condition after its 
rough voyage, and set about immediately to 
fix a sail to it, thinking of the many pleasant 
evenings Vesta and I would eny>y in the moon- 
light, while Mullane guided us through the wa- 
ter. 

In the twilight I told the queen of my hap- 
py find, and with ail her household we went to 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. I49 

the beach to inspect it. Diana marveled much 
that so frail a thing should be able to stand 
against the sea, and asked me many questions 
concerning its guidance in the water. When I 
had explained everything as best I could, I 
proposed a sail, and, after much demurring, 
the queen and Vesta embarked with me and 
we sped out grandly before the evening 
breeze, leaving our companions bewildered 
upon the shore. 

The queen was much delighted. 

“ Couldst thou direct the building of such a 
craft,” she asked me ; “ one with greater dimen- 
sions so that all my children might embark ? ” 

“ My queen, it would be difficult to accom 
plish, for we have no implements with which to 
shape the timbers; but if thou dost command 
I will attempt it.” 

“ And even did we have the implements, we 
have not the timbers,” mused the queen. 

I suggested the shady trees which grew on 
either side of the long avenues. 


150 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

“ Nay,” replied Diana, “ for though I like the 
gentle motion of thy boat as it glides swiftly 
over the water, I could not part with the most 
scraggy tree in my groves — they are my child- 
ren. But I am glad for thy sake that thou hast 
found thy craft, for I know it is a joy to thee, 
and I have ever feared that thou wouldst too 
soon tire of our small pleasures.” 

4< I shall never lack for enjoyment while I 
am permitted to remain a member of the royal 
household,” I replied. 

We returned in an hour to the landing, the 
queen and my sister much pleased with the di- 
version. Each night thereafter, when the moon 
was full, she looked down upon the white sail 
and brightened the smiling face of some prin- 
cess ; and in time I taught Mullane to guide 
the boat while I listened to the musical voice 
of my sister, or lay entranced by the sweet 
music of her lute. 

I was returning to the palace one morning, 
after I had fulfilled my long-standing promise 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. I 5 I 

to Mullane to complete his lamp, and had left 
him eager to descend into the cavern to behold 
the face of her who ever slept where the cold 
spray of the dark river fell upon her golden 
hair. The sun had traveled about two hours 
of his journey, and the rich foliage glittered as 
he kissed the leaves with its dazzling beams 
and bathed them in gold. 

All nature seemed in unison with my glad- 
dened heart. 

I entered the palace and tempted Vesta forth 
to walk in the cool shade of the morning while 
she charmed my ear with the sweet songs of 
Diana and of Diana’s kingdom; how the queen 
had transformed a rugged island into a paradise 
of beauty ; of her great will, which had con- 
quered all things and won for her control of the 
universe. 

As she related the story of her own life, that 
she was a little child, following sadly after the 
pall of her dear mother as they carried her to 
the dark river, when the queen saw her and 


152 THE ISLE OF FEMININE, 

took her under the roof of the palace, from 
which she emerged only after she had been de- 
clared an immortal princess. She spoke sadly 
of her erring father, and blessed the queen for 
her great kindness. 

Unnoticed we wandered to the palm where 
first we met in the gray light of the morning. 
We sat down to rest, and I began to tell Vesta 
of my home and the dear mother, when Mel- 
pomene approached us. 

She seemed troubled, and she spoke in a 
hurried, agitated voice. 

“O, Angelo,” she said, “hasten to the palace. 
The queen seems greatly disturbed, and would 
have audience with thee at once. Tarry not 
for us, for we will come after thee.” 

What confused thoughts crowded into my 
brain as I ran to obey the summons. Without 
awaiting permission to enter, I rushed into the 
presence of Diana. She was calm, but I saw 
she was striving to control some violent emo- 
tion. 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 1 5 3 

“ Thou art kind, my prince, to respond so 
quickly to my summons, and I am sorry to 
have disturbed thy pleasure, but what I have 
to show thee will brook no delay. Follow me, 
and I will take thee to the queen’s treasure 
house.” Saying this, she touched a spring 
hidden away in the casement, and a trap-door 
flew open at our feet revealing a flight of stairs, 
down which I followed her. After descending 
some twenty steps we came to a large room 
filled with gold and precious stones. Rich 
jewels lay in heaps about the apartment and 
their brightness dazzled me. 

When I turned towards the queen her coun- 
tenance had changed. That imperial look of 
immortality had vanished, and I saw before me 
a maiden whose face was flushed with the first 
passionate emotions of womanhood. 

“ O, Angelo,” she cried, thou dost wonder 
at my great riches ? Take them ; they are 
thine. Never again shall their brilliancy give 
me pleasure, for even now my light flickers and 


154 the isle of feminine. 

is going out. I have brought thee hither that 
these rich jewels may not lie forever hidden in 
the earth, for not even the Princess Melpomene 
knows of their existence.” 

I tried to speak, but Diana interrupted me. 

“ Nay, listen yet further, my Angelo. I have 
tried to make thee immortal ; I have created 
thee first prince of the kingdom ; the great seal 
is in thy keeping. Even my favorite child is 
thy sister. Remember thy title as a passing 
joy, and treasure the seal as a remembrance of 
her who spent centuries in vain search for the 
tree of life, and found it at last through thy 
teaching; for, O prince, I see the beauteous 
tree, and it stands majestic near a great white 
throne. A dark river separates me from it, but 
a ferryman awaits my coming and my brother 
stands with outstretched hands on the oppo- 
site shore. He shall pluck for me the golden 
fruit. The infinite God has sent thee to be my 
guide and I bless thee for thy coming. Rule 
my people with justice and mercy when I am 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. I5£ 

no more upon the island, for thou, only, of all 
my house may live when my power is gone, 
my sweet daughters shall sink beneath the in- 
firmities of a thousand years, and their spirits 
shall follow me to the bright land beyond the 
stars.” 

“ And Vesta? ” I almost shrieked. 

“ Paradise would hold for me more joys if 
the curse of mine error did not crush thy sister. 
And it may be that she will live, for she is 
young and has been but three years a prin- 
cess ; but I know not what evils the withdraw- 
ing of my influence will work. If she sur- 
vives, lavish on her the devotion of thy life. ,, 

“ O queen,” I cried in a hollow voice, “ I 
have been the serpent in thine Eden.” 

*' Say not so, for thou hast led me from a 
material world to the land where dwell the im- 
mortal gods.” 

Diana ceased speaking. That passion which 
she blessed took possession of her and she 
threw herself in my embrace. 


I56 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

“ Let me feel but one, the sweetest of all 
the passions — a mortal’s love,” she said. 
“ There, fare thee well.” 

The beautiful head lay still upon my breast. 
For a long time I stood motionless, bewildered, 
dazed, and then I raised her up. Heaven 
blot from my memory the sound of my own 
shriek. The queen’s spirit had fled, and her 
once heavenly face was shrunken and made 
hideous by the wrinkles of three thousand 
years. Hastily I laid her down amid the 
splendors of her treasure house, and ran wildly 
up the steps, not even stopping to take one 
precious gem. 

When I reached the hall I witnessed an- 
other sight awful and hideous; there, in their 
stately robes, lay the shrunken forms of the 
queen’s household, all save Thalia and my 
sister. I ran out of the palace to seek them. 
I reeled as I went, and my brain burned with 
anxiety for Vesta. 

Under a tree I found them, Thalia lying 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 1 57 

upon the ground week and helpless, but smil- 
ing upon me as I approached. 

“ Nay, look not aghast at my wrinkles, 
Prince Angelo, for they are but the honorable 
marks of an old age,” she said. 

“ O Thalia, O my sister ; the queen is dead 
and her children, save only thou.” 

” We did judge as much,” answered Thalia, 
for see, her departure has left me nothing but 
the hideousness of five hundred years. But 
peace, my prince, she has but changed her 
abode to the home of the infinite God who 
dwells beyond the stars. Often has the queen 
taught us of that Being who rules the universe.” 

One of the inhabitants passed near by, and I 
commanded him to bear the sad news to the 
village. He stared at me for a moment as 
though to determine if I had not gone mad; 
then he caught sight of Thalia and ran swiftly 
away shrieking like some demon. He was not 
long gone when we heard a rumbling sound in 
the direction of the village, and we saw the in- 


I58 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

habitants running madly towards us, while the 
air was filled with the fearful warning, “ Woe 
to the destroyer of the queen ! woe ! woe !” I 
grew faint with fear as the words died away 
and a sound more terrible and distinct came to 
my ears, “ Death to the serpent ; destruction to 
the traitor Angelo.” 

“ Save thyself,” cried Thalia ; “ the populace 
are furious and will do thee harm. Hasten, O, 
prince, ere it be too late. Farewell, my Vesta, 
my spirit takes its flight. Farewell, Angelo, 
farewell.” 

Nearer came the seething populace ; louder 
were the shrieks of the maddened mob as they 
rushed toward us. I looked toward Vesta — she 
had fainted. I caught her in my arms and 
rushed away, whither I knew not, anywhere, 
that I might escape the fury of the people. 
In my agony I thought of my boat and ran 
towards it, and placing my precious burden on 
one of the seats, I cut the rope which held it 
fast, sprang in, and hoisted the sail. A fresh 


THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 1 59 

breeze was blowing and we were carried swiftly 
out to sea. We were safe at last. The ocean, 
which I had before thought so cruel, saved me 
from the vengeance of the multitude. 

Vesta opened her eyes and looked wonder- 
ingly about. 

“ It was a dream," she cried, joyously ; 
“ tell me it was but a dream, my brother. I 
did think the queen and my sisters were no 
more, and that the people were crying for thy 
blood, and I awake to find myself sailing with 
thee." 

I turned my head that she might not see my 
emotion. 

" Thou dost not answer," she cried, coming 
up to me. “ Tell me that I have dreamed." 

“ My sister," I began sadly, but the sentence 
was never completed, for at that moment a ter- 
rible shock almost capsized our boat, and look- 
ing toward the island, now a mere speck on the 
horizon, we saw it tremble a moment and then 
sink out of sight forever. 


l60 THE ISLE OF FEMININE. 

I remembered Mullane and his lamp, and the 
gaseous cavern where rolled the dark river. 
Poor Mullane ! I trust in that one vivid flash he 
saw his beautiful love by whose side he will 
sleep forever beneath the ruins of a strange 
kingdom. 

As Vesta beheld the destruction of her 
home, she nestled close to my breast as if for 
protection, and my heart leapt with the joy of 
a great love. 

“ O, Vesta,” I cried ; no longer my sister^ 
but my love ; here, while the waves murmur 
perhaps our funeral dirge, may I call thee 
mine ? ” 

And Vesta answered, as she nestled closer : 

“ Whether we find a grave beneath the waves 
or ride safely to some harbor of thine own 
land, I am thine forever. ‘ Whither thou goest, 
I will go ; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge ; 
thy people shall be my people, and thy God 
my God.” ’ 


THE END. 


Blumensteil Bros. 


Railroad [ 
Ticket |f 
Brokers r 


it?) m 

& CUT M 

imiM 

TO ALL POINTS. 


ALL TRANSACTIONS GUARANTEED. 


MEMBERS AMERICAN TICKET 
BROKERS’ ASSOCIATION. 


213 West Markham Street, 
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 

I. GOODMAN, Manager. 

I. GOODMA N _ — v 

DE ‘V R Cigars, Tobaccos 
^<j>^ Periodicals. 

KEY WEST AND IMPORTED CIGARS 
Received Weekly. 

ALL THE NEWSPAPERS 

AND 

PERIODICALS ON BAND. 


TRY OUR FAMOUS “EL BELMONTS” 

Clear Havana Cigars in all Sizes. 

213 WEST MARKHAM STREET, 

Two doors East of Opera House. LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 

F— 11 


The Little Rock& Memphis R. R. 

* 0 * 

Is the Friend of 
Little Rock and 
Arkansas, and 
.Deserves Your Patronage. 

6 ^ 


a- 


THE QUICKEST 9 SHORTEST LINE 
To Memphis 
North, 

East, 

South ano 
\ West. 


And 

All 

Points 


City Freight and Ticket Office: 

no East Markham Street. 


VSj 9 


H. W. MORRISON, 

General Freight and Passenger agent. 


Walter G. Hall & Co, 

THE 

LEADING HATTERS 

— AND — 

MEN’S OUTFITTERS 

— OF — 

ARKANSAS, 

113 West Markham Street, 
Under Capital Hotel, 


DICKINSON ARMS CO, 

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 

The Only Exclusive Sporting House 
• ==- In The State d — : - 

AGENTS FOR — 

Winchester Repeating Arms Co. 

Marlin Fire Arms Co. 

Parker Guns, Smith Guns, Burges’ Guns. 

Hazard Powder Co. 

Chamberlain Cartridge Co. 

A. G. Spaulding & Bros., Athletic and Sporting Goods. 
Geo. Banard & Co.’s Hunting Clothing, etc. 

Columbia and Cleveland Bicycles. 

We also carry a full line of 

Mackintosh Wading Pants and Sporting Boots. 

All of the Nitro Powders. 

Blank and Nitro Powder Loaded Shells. 

Miners’ Supplies, etc. 

We do all kinds of Gun and Locksmithing and Bicycle Repair- 
ing, and guarantee all work. 


L_*. J. LOEB — ^ 

[AMERICAN 

MEMBER TICKET BROKERS 
\ ASSOCIATION. 

Railroad Tickets 

BOUGHT, 

SOLD 

AND 

^ — - EXCHANGED. 


ALL TRANSACTIONS GUARANTEED. 


Fones Broilers Hardware Co. 

DEALERS IN 

SHELF AND HEAVY HARDWARE, 



STOVES, 

CUTLERY, 

IRON, 

NAILS, 


RUBBER AND LEATHER BELTING. 
AGRICULTURAL 
IMPLEMENTS, 


LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 




me Swine Brokerage Go. 

Commission Merchants 

— AND — 

Wholesale Brokers, 

REFINED SUGAR, Y. C. SUGAR, 

COFFEE, MOLASSES, 

RICE, 

GRAIN, 

FLOUR, 

CANNED GOODS, 

418 East Markham Street, Little Rock, Ark. 


LINCOLN'S 

Crystal Cream 



THIS DELIGHTFUL PREPARATION 

Is Unequaled for Chapped Hands and Lips, 
Roughness of the Skin, 

Pimples and Sunburn. 

Is Entirely Free from Grease and 
Is Far Superior to Glycerine and Cold Cream. 
The Most Pleasant and Agreeable Preparation 
to Use After Shaving. 

TWENTY-FIVE CENTS PER BOTTLE. 

Trial. Size, Ten Cents. 

For Sale toy All Druggists. 

Manufactured only by VICTORIA CHEMICAL COMPANY, 
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 





LITTLE ROCK, 

ARKANSAS. 


H. K. COCHRAN, 

COMMISSION MERCHANT, 
MERCHANDISE BROKER, 

OILSt^GRAIN. 

Consignments and 
Correspondence Little Rock, Ark. 
Solicited. 

State Agent for the National Starch Manufacturing Company. 

WRITE FOR PRICES 

On Oils, Starch, Bagging and Ties. 

I use J. K. Armsby Co.’s, L. W. Minford and Co.’s, J. H. 
Taylor & Co.’s, A. C. Dow & Co.’s, United States 
and Standard Cipher Codes. 


J. W. MAST 


_ WHOLESALE _ 


CARRIAGE 

AND 

WAGON 

MATERIAL. 


HORSEanFMULE jewelry 

FINE HARNESS. 


218 EAST MARKHAM STREET, 
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 

1§ Qarpetii^s! 
Draperies! 
purpiture! 





ARKANSAS 

GARRET 

— AND — 

FURNITURE 

COMPANY, 

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 



ICE! GRAIN! HAY! 


WE ALSO HAVE CONSTANTLY IN STOCK 
THE FOLLOWING GRADES OF 



AT LOWEST CURRENT PRICES: 


Arkansas Semi=Anthracite. 



Lump Coal. 

JENNY LIND, COAL HILL, 


ALABAMA, BLACK DIAMOND. 


Fancy Lump. 


Smithing Coal. WALKER & CALEF, 


Office. 119 Main Street, LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 
Yards : Foot of Spring Street. 


Merchants Transfer Co. 

Is The Recognized 
Transfer Company 
OF Little Rock. 


CARLOAD FREIGHT A SPECIALTY '^ 5 


Dealers in all kinds of 

Dome^ ir AND A ” f hracite 



Orders given prompt attention. 
Telephone 216. 


J. T. HAIZLIP <£ CO. 

Mz, COl TON ^4. 

^ B U Y E RS ^ 

DO A GENERAL COTTON BUYING 

— AND — 

SHIPPING BUSINESS, 

Fill Orders for Spinners Direef, for both Foreign 
and Domestic Spinners. 

SPECIAL ATTENTION GIVEN TO ORDERS FOR 
EXTRA STAPLE AND HIGH GRADE COTTON . 

Correspondence with Country Merchants Solicited. 

Room 7 Board of Trade Building, 

~ LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 

AD. HAMBERG, 

AG ENT - 

# LESSER 
# # COTTON 

* COMPANY, 

Cotton Merchants 

308, 10, 12 & 14 SCOTT STREET, 

Little Rock, Ark, 


s * - -GO TO — -—a- 

The Navra Crockery Co. 

For Fine China, Crockery and Glassware. 

Keep constantly on hand all the Finest Grades of Imported 
China, in sets and single pieces. 

PRICES TO MEET ALL COMPETITORS. 

The genuine Rogers Bros., No. 1847, Knives, Forks and 
Spoons in large variety. 220 Main Street. 


'Nl. J. SIESEL, 

DEALER IN 

HIDES, FURS, WOOL AND COTTON, 

-raLEATHER&^ 

AND 

SHOEMAKERS’ AND SADDLERS’ SUPPLIES, 

21 1 & 213 East Markham Street, 

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 


I). P. O TTIiNHIlIMIlR 

BOOKSELLER, 

STATIONER, 

ENGRAVER and OFFICE OUTFITTER. 

KEEPS ALL THE LATEST 
PERIODICALS AND PAPERS. 

307 Main Street, Little Rock. 


E. M. BUTTE, 

Wholesale * Merchandise * Broker. 

Room 6 Geyer & Adams Building, 

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 

Car lots of Grain constantly on hand. Wire for prices. 





















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